Guest blogger Patrick MacRoy is Director of Community-Based Initiatives and RRP Training Program Manager for the National Center for Healthy Housing. He launched the first “train-the-trainer” program to help increase the supply of accredited RRP training providers and has been working on related policy issues.

Today marks a major milestone in the century-long battle against childhood lead poisoning in the United States: the EPA will be officially implementing the Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule. Known as the RRP rule, the regulation is designed to prevent the contamination of nearly four million homes a year with toxic lead dust created from the disturbance of old lead-based paint during rehab or maintenance work in older homes. Mandated by Congress nearly two decades ago, the rule has long been a source of controversy and will continue to require attention from advocates to ensure it reaches its full potential.

As part of the Residential Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, Congress mandated EPA to study the lead hazards created by renovation activities to determine appropriate regulations. EPA studied the issue exhaustively, missing the congressional deadline of October 1996 to promulgate regulations in the process. EPA’s studies, however, clearly demonstrated that renovation …