Lead Consulting Services
PENTA Engineering Group, Inc. (PENTA) provides clients with a wide range of lead consulting services. Our staff is well trained and accredited to provide these services to our clients. PENTA’s objective is to understand a facility’s condition, evaluate concerns, and develop a strategy with the owner/manager to mitigate those concerns and produce a cost-effective solution to fit Commercial, Industrial, Healthcare, and Governmental Institutions.
PENTA’s services include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Lead Surveys – PENTA’s EPA accredited Lead Inspectors perform project specific lead surveys to assist building owners/managers in conforming to applicable OSHA/EPA regulations. PENTA’s inspectors work closely with the client to develop a cost effect sampling strategy to document the presence or absence of lead in paint coatings.
- Employee Exposure Monitoring – OSHA’s Lead in Construction Standard (29 CFR 1926.62) sets a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (50 ug/m3), averaged over an 8-hour workday which is referred to as a time-weighted average (TWA). This is the highest level of lead in air to which you may be permissibly exposed over an 8-hour workday as an employee. OSHA further sets an Action Level of 30 ug/m3 as an 8-hour TWA. If employees are exposed to concentrations of lead greater than the Action Level, additional medical monitoring of employees is required.
If lead is present in the workplace in any quantity, the Employer is required to make an Initial Determination of whether any employee's exposure to lead exceeds the Action Level (30 ug/m3 averaged over an 8-hour day). Employee exposure is that exposure which would occur if the employee were not using a respirator. This Initial Determination requires the Employer to monitor workers' exposures unless he or she has objective data which can demonstrate conclusively that no employee will be exposed to lead in excess of the action level. Where objective data is used in lieu of actual monitoring, the Employer must establish and maintain an accurate record, documenting its relevancy in assessing exposure levels for current job conditions.
PENTA’s trained staff can assist clients in performing employee exposure monitoring to document employees exposure to lead. Performing a Negative Initial Determination (NID) allows the employer to reduce the engineering controls required during certain tasks involving disturbance to lead-containing paint coatings, thereby reducing overall project costs.
- Air Monitoring, Wipe Sampling, and Work Practice Observation Services – During lead abatement efforts, PENTA can provide Resident Project Representatives (RPRs) onsite to perform air monitoring and wipe sampling adjacent active lead abatement work areas to document the effectiveness of the Contractor’s control measures, and clearance sampling within the work area prior to removal of critical barriers and re-occupancy of the area. We further document the selected contractor’s compliance to contract documents and applicable Federal, State, and local regulations.
- Risk Assessments - PENTA’s EPA accredited Risk Assessors have experience in evaluating potential lead contamination in areas where damaged lead-containing paint coatings are present. Following the evaluation, PENTA can assist clients in development and implementation of an appropriate, cost effective response action.
- Waste Classification – If lead is present in paint coatings on materials to be disposed in a landfill, EPA requires that a sample of the waste stream be analyzed by Lead Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (Lead TCLP). This analytical procedure mimics the effects of rain and ground water leaching lead from the debris within the landfill and measures the amount of lead in the leachate. If the TCLP analysis indicates lead leaches from the debris in concentrations greater than 5.0 parts per million (ppm), the waste must be classified as Hazardous Waste and be treated accordingly. TCLP analysis results less than 5 ppm indicate that the lead waste can be disposed as general construction debris.
Our professional team of engineers is dedicated to meeting the needs of each individual client and can tailor a scope of services to meet those needs.
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