SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A Springfield-based business will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency nearly $10,000 over federal lead-based paint violations.
The EPA has fined Rozell Siding and Windows Inc., a home renovation company in Springfield, nearly $10,000 after violating conditions of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
Federal officials say the company did not comply with regulations intended to reduce the hazards of lead-based paint exposure during renovations.
The EPA alleges that Rozell Siding and Windows failed to obtain EPA renovator certification and failed to assign a certified renovator prior to performing renovations. According to the EPA, the company also failed to provide notification of renovation requirements to property owners and failed to maintain required paperwork.
The EPA says, when lead contaminates dust from chipped or peeling lead-based paint in buildings finished prior to 1978, it can cause elevated blood lead levels in children. Lead dust can be generated when lead-based paint deteriorates.
Infants and children are especially vulnerable to lead-based paint exposure because their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults do, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. Children can be exposed from multiple sources and may experience irreversible and lifelong health effects.
EPA inspectors will be working actively in Missouri over the next few months, including the Springfield area, to encourage greater compliance with the federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule.
The EPA also fined a St. Louis-based company, Swedlund Construction LLC, for similar violations.
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