Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 216 - Department of health
Chapter 50 - Environmental health
Subchapter 15 - HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
Part 3 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Compliance and Enforcement
Section 216-RICR-50-15-3.3 - Definitions

1. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-24.6 entitled "Lead Poisoning Prevention."

2. "Agent" means any person authorized, in writing or otherwise, by an owner to act on behalf of or represent the interests of the owner. For purposes of § 3.5 of this Part, an agent is any designated client representative, transaction facilitator, transaction coordinator, or dual facilitator as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20.6-2 who enters into a contract with a seller or lessor with the objective of selling or leasing real estate, but does not include designated client representative for the buyer.

3. "Approved" means approved by the Department, State, or local authority having legal and administrative authority for such.

4. "Cease work order" means an order issued by a State Inspector to immediately stop regulated activities, being conducted in violation of this Part, until the violator can demonstrate their ability to comply with the Department.

5. "Child" or "children" means, for the purposes of this Part, any individual younger than six (6) years of age.

6. "Child care facility" means any building and/or area whose primary purpose is or will be to educate or care for children younger than six (6) years of age, including, but not limited to, child day care centers, nursery schools, preschools, kindergarten classrooms, public and private elementary schools. Child care facilities located in public or commercial buildings encompass only those common areas that are routinely used by children, such as restrooms and cafeterias. Common areas that children only pass through, such as hallways, staircases, and garages are not included. The child care center also encompasses the exterior sides of the building that are immediately adjacent to the child care center and the exterior common areas or play areas routinely used by children.

7. "Child day care" means daily care and/or supervision offered commercially to the public for any part of a twenty-four (24) hour day to children away from their homes.

8. "Child day care center" means any person, firm, corporation, association, or agency who, on a regular or irregular basis, receives any child under the age of sixteen (16) years, for the purpose of care and/or supervision, not in a home or residence, apart from the child's parent for any part of a twenty-four (24) hour day irrespective of compensation or reward. It shall include childcare programs that are offered to employees at the worksite. It does not include nursery schools or other programs of educational services subject to approval by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

9. "Childhood lead poisoning" means, for the purposes of this Part, aconfirmed blood lead level equal to or greater than five micrograms per deciliter (5 µg/dL).

10. "Common area(s)" means a portion of a residential property that is available for shared use by occupants of more than one (1) dwelling unit, such as hallways, stairways, lobbies, community rooms, recreational rooms, laundry rooms, garages, playgrounds, and boundary fences; in general, any area not kept locked.

11. "Department" means the Rhode Island Department of Health.

12. "Director" means the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health or his/her designee.

13. "Dwelling" means an enclosed space which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4(5).

14. "Dwelling unit" means any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4(6). For the purposes of this Part, a dwelling unit includes all relative interior and exterior common areas including soil.

15. "Environmental lead" means, for the purposes of this Part, inorganic lead contained in paint, dust, soil, and/or water.

16. "EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

17. "Expected to reside" means actual knowledge that a child will occupy a single-family house or dwelling unit within the next twelve (12) months for fourteen (14) or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days per year. If a resident woman is known to be pregnant, there is actual knowledge that a child will reside in her dwelling unit.

18. "Foster home" means placement of a child in temporary custody or custody of DCYF in a foster family home or in a private or public child care facility which is licensed by the State. (See R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-11-12.1(h))

19. "Family child care home" means a licensed residence where the resident can provide child care for up to six (6) children, or up to eight (8) children with an assistant approved by the Department of Human Services.

20. "Group family child care home" means a residence where the resident can provide child care for eight (8) to twelve (12) children with one (1) or two (2) approved assistants (dependent on enrollment details).

21. "Housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities" means retirement communities and other housing reserved for households composed of one (1) or more persons sixty-two (62) years of age or older, or other age if recognized as elderly by a specific federal housing assistance program, or persons with disabilities, and is owned, managed by, or for which the rent is subsidized or paid by a Federal, State or local government housing agency.

22. "HUD" means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

23. "Immediate Compliance Order" means an order issued by the Director to immediately stop specified activities which pose a threat to the health or safety of children, occupants, workers, or the public.

24. "Interim controls" means a set of measures designed to temporarily reduce human exposure to lead hazards, including specialized cleaning, repairs, maintenance, painting, non-permanent encapsulation or enclosure, and ongoing monitoring of lead-based paint or potential lead hazards, and the establishment and operation of management and resident education programs.

25. "Lead assessor" means a person, either authorized to act as an enforcing officer under the housing code or a designated employee of a Federal, State or municipal agency with jurisdiction over housing, occupational health, child welfare and/or environmental standards who successfully completed a Lead Assessor training course and obtained a license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to conduct lead inspections.

26. "Lead-based paint" means any paint or other surface coating that contains lead in excess of the Lead-Safe thresholds specified in § 5.8 of this Subchapter.

27. "Lead contractor" means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4, any person or entity engage in lead hazard reduction as a business that includes consultants who design, perform, oversee, or evaluate lead hazard reduction projects undertaken pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.

28. "Lead hazard control" or "LHC" means any window replacement and/or interim controls intended to correct lead hazards identified in a lead inspection report or standard treatments to remove lead-based paint and/or minimize lead exposure, which may include measures to reduce the concentration of lead in paint, dust, soil, and/or water using approved treatment methods specified in this Part.

29. "Lead hazard mitigation" or "LHM" means spot removal or minor repair and maintenance activities by a property owner or designated person in a residential rental unit intended to correct lead hazards, which may include measures to reduce friction or stabilize paint using approved treatments and work methods specified in this Part.

30. "Lead hazard reduction" or "LHR" means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4, any action or actions designed to reduce exposure to toxic levels of lead which impose an unacceptable risk of exposure in any dwelling or dwelling unit where a child under the age of six (6) years with environmental intervention blood lead levels or greater resides, or on any premises and may include, but is not limited to: repair, enclosure, encapsulation, or removal of lead based paint and/or lead contaminated dust, soil or drinking water relocation of occupants; and cleanup measure or ongoing maintenance measures which may include, activities and/or measures that do not present an undue risk to children under age six (6). See "Lead Contractor."

31. "Lead inspector" means an individual, who successfully completed a certified Lead Inspector training course, passed the Lead Inspector State examination, completed a supervised field apprenticeship, and obtained a license, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to conduct lead inspections.

32. "Lead professional" means an occupational grouping of individuals and organizations licensed or certified pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter.

33. "Lead renovation firm" means any person or organization engaged in renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) or lead hazard control (LHC) as a business and licensed pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter.

34. "Lead renovator" means an individual who successfully completed a certified Lead Renovator training course and obtained a valid training certificate, pursuant to Part 11 of this Subchapter, to perform renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) and lead hazard control (LHC) work.

35. "Lead safe" means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4, that a dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises has undergone sufficient lead hazard reduction to ensure that no significant environmental lead hazard is present and includes but is not limited to covering and encapsulation.

36. "Lead-safe standard" means lead in paint, dust, soil and water below the Lead-Safe thresholds in § 5.8 of this Subchapter or intact paint and covered soil above the lead safe thresholds in § 5.8 of this Subchapter.

37. "Lead screening" means a method for identifying an asymptomatic child at high risk of having childhood lead poisoning from a population of children not previously diagnosed as having lead poisoning or in a child not exhibiting signs or symptoms believed to be related to lead poisoning, including the obtaining of the necessary specimen(s) for a blood lead screening test, and specimen handling and preparation.

38. "Lease" means any agreement, written or oral, between a lessor and lessee concerning the rent, use and occupancy of a residential dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises subject to the provisions of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 34-18).

39. "Lessee" means a person named as the renter in a rental agreement or occupancy agreement for a single-family house, dwelling unit, or premises. See "Occupant" and "Tenant."

40. "Lessor" means any person who offers to rent, lease, or sublease a single family house, dwelling unit, or premises.

41. "License" means an authorization granted by the Department to engage in a business or occupation that is subject to regulation by the Department. For the purposes of this Part, a registration, certification, permit or similar authorization issued by the Department is also considered to be a license.

42. "Lis pendens" means "suit pending" in Latin. Lis pendens is taken as constructive notice of a pending lawsuit or an existing unsettled Department enforcement action and it serves to place a cloud on the title of the property in question until the enforcement action or suit is resolved and/or the lis pendens is released.

43. "Mechanical paint removal" means the use of any mechanical force to remove paint from a surface, including, but not limited to, electrical or other power equipment or abrasive blasting.

44. "Minor repair and maintenance" means work activities, including minor heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) work, electrical work, or plumbing work that disturbs less than six square feet (6 ft2) of lead-based paint per room for interior activities or less than twenty square feet (20 ft2) of lead based-paint for exterior activities where none of the work practices prohibited or restricted by this Part are used and where the work does not involve window replacement or demolition of painted surfaces. For the purposes of this Part, the term minor repair and maintenance shall be synonymous with spot removal. See "Spot removal."

45. "Mortgagee" means a person or entity, usually a bank or financial institution, who is the party to a mortgage who makes a loan and holds mortgaged property as security for repayment of the loan. A mortgagee is not considered an owner unless such person has taken full legal title through foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or otherwise.

46. "Noncompliance" or "nonconformance" or "failure to comply" or "violation" means any act or failure to act which constitutes or results in or from:

47. "Notice of violation" means a legal notice issued by the Department to an owner of a property where a Department-initiated lead inspection identified lead hazards. A Notice of Violation requires corrective action, pursuant to Part 8 of this Subchapter.

48. "Occupant" means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4, any person who legally resides in, or regularly uses, a dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure; provided, however, that a guest of any age shall not be considered an occupant for the purposes of this Part. See "Lessee" and "Tenant."

49. "Order" means the whole or a part of an action, finding, declaration or disposition by the Department, whether affirmative, negative, injunctive or declaratory in form, other than rulemaking but including notices of violation, orders to correct, compliance orders, permits, certifications, licenses, and approvals issued pursuant to the Director's authority.

50. "OSHA" means the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

51. "Owner" means as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4, any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others:

52. "Paint" means any substance applied to a surface as a surface coating, including, but not limited to, household paints, varnishes and stains.

53. "Painted surface" means a component surface covered in whole or in part with paint or other surface coatings.

54. "Painted surface to be disturbed" means a painted surface that is to be stripped, scraped, sanded, cut, penetrated or otherwise affected by renovation or rehabilitation work in a manner that could potentially create a lead hazard by generating dust, fumes, or paint chips.

55. "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or organization, including municipal and State agencies.

56. "Premises" means, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-24.6-4, a platted lot or part thereof or unplatted lot or parcel of land, occupied by a dwelling or structure and includes any building, accessory structure or other structure thereon which is or will be frequently used by children under the age of six (6) years.

57. "Purchaser" means any person who purchases or enters into a contractual agreement to gain legal title to a dwelling, condominium, or residential premises.

58. "Real estate" means any property consisting of land and the buildings on it.

59. "Renovation, repair, and painting" or "RRP" means activities being done by a Lead Renovation Firm typically performed at the option of the property owner for aesthetic or other reasons, or as an interim control to minimize lead hazards. RRP is not designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint. Since RRP projects can disturb lead-based paint in homes and buildings built before 1978, thus creating new lead hazards, individual renovators must be trained and certified, use lead-safe work practices, and firms must be licensed. Any additional work which disturbs lead-based paint, other than emergency renovation operations, performed in the same room or area within the same thirty (30) day period must be considered the same RRP project for the purpose of determining whether the work is spot removal or renovation, repair, and painting (RRP).

60. "Residential dwelling" means a building containing one (1) or more residential dwelling units.

61. "Second notice of violation" or "2nd NOV" means a legal notice issued by the Department to an owner who did not meet the requirements of the (first) Notice of Violation. The Department shall post the Second Notice of Violation at the property and record it as a lis pendens with the Recorder of Deeds in the city/town where the property is located. See "Notice of Violation."

62. "Seller" means any person who has the authority to transfer legal title to real estate.

63. "Spot removal or de minimis" means minor repair and maintenance activities, which do not involve window replacement, interior mechanical paint removal, or demolition of painted surface areas, and disturb less than six square feet (6 ft2) of interior lead-based paint per room or less than twenty square feet (20 ft2) of exterior lead-based paint, and provided that no prohibited work practices are used. When removing painted components, or portions of painted components the entire surface area removed is the amount of lead-based paint being disturbed. Any additional work which disturbs lead-based paint, performed in the same room or area within the same thirty (30) day period of an RRP project must be considered the same RRP project and not spot removal.

64. "State inspector" means the Director, his or her designee, or any inspector employed by the Department who is authorized by the director to conduct comprehensive environmental lead inspections and/or other inspections for the Department.

65. "Target housing" means any pre-1978 residential dwelling, except housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities or zero (0) bedroom units in which no child resides.

66. "Temporary lead hazard control measures" means a set of measures designed to temporarily reduce human exposure or likely exposure to lead hazards, including but not limited to, specialized cleaning, temporary containment (e.g. plastic sheeting and/or duct tape), ongoing monitoring, and the establishment and operation of lead management and resident education programs.

67. "Tenant" means any person, other than the owner, who enters into an agreement to rent, lease, or sublease a single-family house, dwelling unit, or premises. See "Lessee or Occupant."

68. "Zero-bedroom dwelling unit" means any residential dwelling unit in which the living area is not separated from the sleeping area, including, but not limited to, efficiencies, studio apartments, dormitory or single room occupancy housing, and military barracks.