Lead paint disclosure in Mississippi

The federal lead disclosure rule covers both sales and rentals of most pre-1978 homes. Before the buyer or tenant signs, 4 things must happen:

• Tell them about any lead-based paint or lead hazards you know of in the home.
• Share whatever lead records or reports you have on the property.
• Provide the EPA pamphlet on lead in the home.
• Put a Lead Warning Statement into the contract for the sale or lease.

Paint, dust, or soil with enough lead to hurt a resident counts as a lead hazard. The rule only asks about hazards the seller or landlord is aware of. No testing is required beforehand.

Under the federal rule, a buyer has 10 days to check the home for lead. That window lets you find out about problems while the sale is still open, not after you have already moved in.

A big chunk of the state's housing was built before 1980. Census figures break down the pre-1980 share of the market like this:

Mississippi requires a Lead-Based Paint Project Notification filed with the state's environmental agency, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 6 working days ahead of the start of work. Regulated jobs that disturb paint in a pre-1978 home or in a building where children spend time fall under this. Renovation jobs count too, things like sanding, scraping, and swapping out windows. EPA's own rule doesn't ask for this notice, so it's easy to miss if you're used to the federal rules alone.

Mississippi runs its lead worker credentials through MDEQ rules under the state law governing lead-based paint activity accreditation and certification. If you work in this field in Mississippi, you need certification, and that goes for every role, from inspectors and risk assessors to project designers, supervisors, workers, renovators, dust sampling technicians, and the firms themselves.

Mississippi goes beyond the EPA in a few areas:

A credential from MDEQ is good for just 1 year, and lead training has to be repeated every 3 years. Earning certified renovator status in Mississippi calls for either a high school diploma plus 1 year on the job, or a couple of years working in a related trade.

The state's health agency, the Mississippi State Department of Health, recommends a routine blood lead test for children on Medicaid at 12 months, then a second one at 24 months. Any child who hasn't been tested yet should get one between 36 and 72 months.

Results are given in micrograms per deciliter, which is a tiny bit of lead measured in a small sample of blood. A finger-stick test uses a few drops from a fingertip. A result of 3.5 or more means a second test is needed, this time with blood taken from a vein, to make sure the number is right. A finger-stick result of 45 or more means that follow-up test must be done inside of 48 hours.

In Mississippi, lead poisoning is a reportable disease, so high results have to be passed on to the health department. Any vein blood test showing 3.5 or more in a child aged 6 or younger must go to the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Healthy Homes Program at the health department. Labs also have to send in every blood lead result for children 6 and under, high or not.