EPA and Partners Teach Construction and Disaster Recovery Workers in Puerto Rico How to Properly Manage Lead
San Juan, P.R. - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with the Puerto Rico Department of Health and the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), hosted a free workshop on how to properly manage toxic lead paint when doing renovations and repairs. The training, held April 30 at the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico in Hato Rey, was offered for free to construction and disaster recovery workers. Participants learned how to prevent exposure during repairs, renovations, and painting projects and how to make sure they don’t accidentally bring the lead home to their own families.
“Lead is toxic and it can permanently damage a child’s ability to learn and cause serious health issues in adults, which is why training like this is so important,” said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci. “By training contractors and workers how to handle lead-based paint and how to be sure they don’t bring it home, we can keep many kids and families from being exposed to lead.”
About 200 professionals from construction, engineering, and environmental fields attended. The workshop covered common sources of lead exposure on the job, health impacts of lead—particularly for young children, and practical steps to reduce risk at work and avoid bringing lead dust home. EPA and its partners also highlighted federal and local requirements, including U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration worker protection rules and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s lead‑safe housing rules, and best practices for safely handling lead-based paint during renovation and maintenance activities.
Participants had the opportunity to engage directly with EPA and partner organizations during a question-and-answer session, as well as one on one conversations to exchange resources following the presentations, receiving tools and guidance to apply these practices in their daily work. Three continuing education credits were offered for engineers and surveyors.
Workshops like this are part of EPA’s ongoing efforts to reduce lead exposure by equipping workers and communities with the knowledge and tools to identify hazards, work safely, and prevent contamination before it occurs.
Since the 1970s, EPA has worked alongside partners at the federal, state, Tribal, and local levels to protect children’s health and make progress in reducing lead exposures and lead-related health risks. Despite improvements over the last 50 years, ongoing exposures to lead where our families live, work, and play present a health risk, especially to children.
To combat this issue, in 2025 the Trump EPA reestablished a committee of senior leaders across the agency’s program offices and ten regions to drive success in reducing children’s exposure to lead. This renewed agency-wide focus is centered around strengthening cooperative federalism, streamlining actionable risk communications, and unleashing private sector innovation to protect human health and the environment.
Please see epa.gov/lead for additional information.
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