18VAC15-30-620. Abatement.
A. Abatement must be conducted only by individuals licensed by the board as supervisors or workers and employed by a lead contractor.
B. A licensed lead abatement supervisor is required for each abatement project and must be on site during all work site preparation and during the post-abatement cleanup of work areas. At all other times when abatement activities are being conducted, the licensed supervisor must be on site or available by telephone, pager, or answering service and able to be present at the work site in no more than two hours.
C. The licensed lead abatement supervisor and the lead contractor employing the supervisor must ensure that all abatement activities are conducted according to the requirements of this chapter and all other federal, state, and local regulations.
D. A written occupant protection plan must be developed for all abatement projects and must be prepared according to the following procedures:
1. The occupant protection plan must be unique to each residential dwelling or child-occupied facility and be developed prior to the abatement. The occupant plan must describe the measures and management procedures that will be taken during the abatement to protect the building occupants from exposure to any lead-based paint hazard.
2. A licensed lead abatement supervisor or lead project designer must prepare the occupant protection plan.
E. The following work practices must be restricted during an abatement:
1. Open-flame burning or torching of lead-based paint is prohibited.
2. Machine sanding or grinding or abrasive blasting of lead-based paint is prohibited unless used with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) exhaust control that removes particles of 0.3 microns or larger from the air at 99.97% or greater efficiency.
3. Dry scraping of lead-based paint is permitted only in conjunction with heat guns or around electrical outlets or when treating defective paint spots totaling no more than two square feet in any one room, hallway, or stairwell or totaling no more than 20 square feet on exterior surfaces.
4. Operating a heat gun on lead-based paint is permitted only at temperatures below 1100°F.
F. If the soil is removed:
1. The soil must be replaced by soil with a lead concentration as close to local background as practicable, but no greater than 400 ppm.
2. The soil that is removed must not be used as topsoil at another residential property or child-occupied facility.
3. If soil is not removed, the soil must be permanently covered as defined in 18VAC15-30-20.
G. An abatement report must be prepared by a licensed lead abatement supervisor or lead project designer. The abatement report must include the following information:
1. Start and completion dates of abatement.
2. The name and address of each licensed lead abatement contractor conducting the abatements and the name of each licensed lead abatement supervisor assigned to the abatement project.
3. The occupant protection plan prepared pursuant to subsection D of this section.
4. The name, address, and signature of each licensed risk assessor or inspector conducting clearance sampling and the date of clearance testing.
5. The results of clearance testing, the name of each recognized laboratory that conducted the analysis, and the name and signature of the person conducting the analysis.
6. A detailed written description of the abatement, including abatement methods used, locations of rooms and components where abatement occurred, and reason for selecting particular abatement methods for each component and any suggested monitoring of encapsulants or enclosures.
Statutory Authority
§ 54.1-501 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 13, Issue 2, eff. November 13, 1996; amended, Virginia Register Volume 19, Issue 24, eff. October 1, 2003; Volume 42, Issue 8, eff. January 2, 2026.