Lead Paint Abatement Products:
Spray Applied vs Blastox
When our industry is required to deal with lead paint abatement products, there are 2 general approaches that are used to ensure the elimination of hazardous lead paint waste. An easy and cost-effective way is to purchase Blastox pre-blended abrasive and have it delivered to the job site, ready to blast. Here, the contractor would take the preblended abrasive and blast clean the surface, similarly to other blast & paint projects. The Blastox approach is called “One Step Lead Abatement” as it does not require additional application steps. (see chart below)
The other general approach to lead paint abatement products requires multiple steps. First, you will need to set up scaffolding and containment. This will allow you to apply the chemical on all areas and help ensure overspray doesn’t migrate off the property causing issues.
After setting this up, you will need to paint (spray, roller) the chemical on to the lead paint at some yet to be determined thickness between 20 – 40 mils. Then, you’ll need to let it dry and hope that you have uniform thickness throughout the painted surface.
Otherwise, you risk having areas that contain no, or less than sufficient amounts of chemistry to render the lead paint waste non-hazardous. Finally, you will need to blast & remove not only the lead-based paint, but also the topical chemical coating of between 20-40 mils that you applied to stabilize the lead. This will result in additional abrasive and labor expenses to remove the additional coating, plus the expense of additional abrasive disposal. (see chart below)
“For painters, the most important fact to remember is that the cost of applying paint is 4 to 5 times the cost of the paint itself…” -Albert C. Bean, Tnemec Founder, 1935
As table 1 illustrates, Blastox is a more cost-effective approach than any of the lead paint abatement products. Blastox chemistry has been tested by EPA, FHWA and US DoD, and has been proven to be longterm stable. That assures peace of mind and reduced liability for stakeholders.
