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Oregon Health Authority

Painting and Renovating Safely

For child care providers and school maintenance staff

As a child care provider or school maintenance staff, you can take simple steps to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in your care.

How do I know if my school or child care facility has lead paint?

  • Find out when your school or child care facility was built. If the facility was built before 1978, assume it has lead paint unless it has been tested by a certified renovator or lead inspector/risk assessor and found not to have lead paint.
  • Have your school or child care facility tested by a certified lead inspector/risk assessor or a licensed lead-safe contractor for lead.

How can schools and child care facilities safely make repairs or renovations?

  • Become certified to conduct lead-safe work or hire a lead-safe certified professional for maintenance or renovations. It's the law! See Renovation, Repair and Painting FAQs for Child Care and Schools.
  • If the RRP rule does not apply to a specific job, follow the  information provided in the EPA/HUD Lead Paint Safety: A Field Guide for Painting, Maintenance, and Renovation Work (pdf). This guide will help you plan and carry out the work safely.
  • Remove all belongings from the work area or cover them in plastic before the work starts.
  • Once renovation, maintenance and repair work is complete and cleaning has been performed, make sure the certified renovator has verified it is cleaned or have a certified lead professional take dust wipe samples to ensure that the work area is safe for re-occupancy.
  • When renovation, repair, painting and maintenance work on painted surfaces is scheduled, keep all children and pregnant women out of the work area until clean-up and verification or dust wipe samples have confirmed that the area is safe for re-occupancy.

More information on how to safely paint or renovate a school or child care facility