The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it will not impose lead dust clearance as an addendum to the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule it implemented last April.

According to the EPA, “After carefully weighing all available information and considering the public comments, EPA has concluded it is not necessary to impose new lead-dust sampling and laboratory analysis, known as the clearance requirements, as part of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule.”

Lead clearance testing would have involved additional costs to pre-1978 projects, resulting in higher overall price tags for projects, and therefore increased the risk to homeowners who chose to do the work themselves or hire non-certified individuals to do the work, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).