Lead Exposure is not something you can just brush off as an owner of an older home. While the lead may be safely contained by layers of new paint and newer construction on top of the materials containing the lead, don’t forget that whenever you make changes to your home that the lead is exposed once again. This re-exposure is why it is so very important to hire a professional to handle any major changes to your home. Changes even like putting in new replacement windows. How a Professional Can Protect your Family from Lead Exposure A company or individual professional can protect your family from lead exposure with containment and careful cleaning. In the case of window replacement, the lead exposure is contained by keeping the lead contaminated dust to a minimum and controlling where it drifts. After a project is done, the area that may have lead contamination is thoroughly cleaned to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s post-renovation cleaning requirements. EPA Lead Exposure Certification It is the law that any company that replaces the windows in homes built before 1978 be certified as “Lead-Safe”. To become certified, a company must:

• Submit an application to the Environmental Protection Agency
• Follow record keeping requirements
• Follow work practice standards
• Use only certified (or properly trained) employees to work on replacement window projects
• Assign a Certified Renovator to Each window replacement it does.

Aren’t All Companies Certified? All companies are supposed to be certified before they perform a window replacement on a home built prior to 1978. However, there are many companies out there that are small enough that they try to stay under the radar of the EPA requirements, or companies that have allowed their certification to lapse. Before you agree to work with a company for your window replacement check to make sure that their website has the EPA’s Lead-Safe Certified Firm logo on it. You can also verify that a certification is up to date through the EPA before you work with a contractor. We Are a Lead-Safe Certified Firm Here at Renewal by Andersen, we do have our Lead-Safe Certification. We are not only certified because it is required by law, but we also believe in keeping both our employees and especially our customers safe from the dangers of lead exposure. So if you have a home built before 1978, you can trust that when we install your new, beautiful windows that you will never have to worry about lead exposure for anyone in your family.