State Environmental Protection Agencies prohibit polluting surrounding air, water and land with hazardous waste such as lead paint (example: Sections 9, 12 & 21 Illinois’ 415 ILCS).
Containment structures are not required to maintain compliance of 2adjacent spaces when using the Pentek system.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has published a report comparing Pentek’s dustless needlegun system to conventional abrasive blasting (summary / full text):
Most containment structures are not entirely effective at controlling dust (Image: Global Wrap LLC, showing one of their competitors)
“During the abrasive blasting operations, […] Visible plumes of dust were noted escaping from the enclosure…”
All air samples taken during abrasive blasting exceeded the OSHA lead action level, and 11 out of 16 exceeded the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL) after only four hours’ work.
“During the Pentek System paint removal operations, there were no visible emissions of dust or paint residues.” (page 12)
Air sampling showed that Pentek equipment produced no detectable lead or respirable dust emissions and negligible amounts of total dust (0.1 mg/m³, below the background reading).
A construction worker inside of a containment structure, obscured by high levels of airborne dust. (Image: CDC, phil.cdc.gov)
Containment structures are also known to pose various health risks to those working inside and nearby, due to concentrated levels of airborne dust.
By capturing dust before it is emitted, both the worker’s breathing space and the surrounding environment are kept clean during lead paint removal.
RCRA Regulations
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act empowered the EPA to regulate the generation transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste. Pentek’s lead paint removal system works on a 100% mechanical process that produces a dry waste without adding abrasives, water, chemicals, or neutralizers to the waste volume. No extra processing time or cost is required. The lead paint is automatically packaged in 55-gallon drum ready for transport and disposal.