Cloud of controversy over new lead rules: Removal regulations a big step for safety, but at a high cost

The Boston Globe reports:

Homeowners, landlords, schools, and child-care centers could pay significantly more for repairs and renovations of buildings once strict federal regulations aimed at reducing the risk of lead poisoning in children take effect next month.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s rules, which apply to buildings built before 1978, are intended to reduce the amount of lead paint dust created by projects even as modest as a window replacement or a paint job that covers as little as 6 square feet in a room. Although there are no definitive projections on how much the requirements will add to the price of renovation work, members of the National Association of Homebuilders estimate it at between $500 and $1,500 for projects costing more than $5,000, according to an official of the Wash ington, D.C., trade group. The EPA says the additional expense may be as low as $35 a job.

The green movement: helping lower your standard of living on regulation at a time.