Collecting Dust: Lead Dust Standards to Change This Year

As a property owner, it’s always important to be informed and up to date on laws and regulations to ensure that you remain in compliance and to protect the occupants’ safety and health. With NYC’s laws constantly in flux, it’s even more vital to stay in the loop at all times.

According to a proposed law that is scheduled to go into effect at the end of this year, lead-based paint standards may be changing in the near future.

Under Local Law 66 of 2019 by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the new standards are defined as:

• Paint will be considered lead-based at a level of 5 mg/cm² (formerly defined as 10 mg/cm²)
• Lead dust wipe standards have been lowered, effective June 11, 2021, to:
  • 5 ug/ft² on floors
  • 40 ug/ft² on windowsills
  • 100 ug/ft² on window wells
• Lead-free exemptions issued based on the older definition (1.0 mg/cm²) will be revoked at turnover on or after December 1, 2021; new exemptions must be requested
  • Owners may submit exemption applications according to the current definitions until March 1, 2022 only if
    • Testing was performed prior to December 1, 2021 and
    • Unit turnover will not occur prior to March 1, 2022
  • Lead poisoning levels in children have been lowered from 10 ug/dl to 5 ug/dl as per the CDC’s definition

The law will not go into effect until December 1, 2021

Additionally, August 9, 2021 marks one year since the implementation of Local Law 31 of 2020. All XRF Unit Inspections must be completed within the next four years.

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