I grew up in an older home and my father Ed Levitch MHRIP was an Architect and remodeling contractor in and around Berkeley California and the surrounding cities since 1958. Growing up I learned so many things from him, he taught me the value of family, respect and everything I know today about remodeling homes safely.
I remember a time at Levco Builders when I received a call from a man who shared a personal story about lead poisoning. He thanked me for advocating for the rule. I assured him of my commitment to safety. I was an early supporter of the EPA’s RRP rule, and I’m still a strong advocate today for ensuring people are safe in their homes.
What is a Healthy Home?
We all believe our homes are healthy places but all too often the opposite is true. As a remodeling contractor too, I deal with it every day. From the materials we use to how they are installed and the environment we create within the envelope of your home is unbelievably important. The CDC describes a healthy home as “One that is designed, built, and maintained to support our health” I couldn’t agree more. The other pivotal moment in my quest to promote healthy homes was a document written by the then Surgeon General, Steven Galson in 2009 who articulated the need for a healthy housing stock. This blog is dedicated to all things related to healthy homes with an emphasis on lead, lead detection as well as protection of humans and pets.
The Circuitous Path To EPA Recognition
Testing for Lead-based paint is easy and fun with the Lumetallix instant lead test kit. Although the 3M lead test swabs have been off the market since October 2023, we now know that 3M sold lead testing swabs to a company that will eventually reintroduce them to the...
How Do You Quantify Lead?
As if things weren't complicated enough. There are several ways to measure the amount of lead, and it has been driving me crazy for a while. Not being a scientist myself, I felt compelled to dive into the answer to explain the situation we are up against in layman's...
Clear And Present Danger
In a recent exposé on a Denver TV show, the Lumetallix lead testing product was pitted against an XRF gun to demonstrate that the XRF is a far superior tool for identifying lead hazards, essentially attempting to discredit our instant lead test by highlighting false...
Rental Registry Anyone
There is a new mandate in many parts of the country that is being done in the name of healthy housing. Here is a list of some of them that are popping up all over. Part of it has to do with lead hazards found in homes, and that is where we come in. Other issues can be...
Using XRF for Dust Screening
I just read a fresh article written by a cadre of scientists in Chem Rxiv (an analytical Chemistry magazine) about using an XRF to do dust sampling screening in the field. They state, and I agree, that there has been a long-standing need to be able to do a quick lead...
Kansas City Was A Hit
I was able to visit with a great group of enthusiastic people in a wonderful setting. Ideas were shared on all sorts of topics related to lead and healthy housing. The overarching message was that we need to be scrappy and creative, finding funding for the important...
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The Circuitous Path To EPA Recognition
Testing for Lead-based paint is easy and fun with the Lumetallix instant lead test kit. Although the 3M lead test swabs have been off the market since October 2023, we now know that 3M sold lead testing swabs to a company that will eventually reintroduce them to the...
How Do You Quantify Lead?
As if things weren't complicated enough. There are several ways to measure the amount of lead, and it has been driving me crazy for a while. Not being a scientist myself, I felt compelled to dive into the answer to explain the situation we are up against in layman's...
Clear And Present Danger
In a recent exposé on a Denver TV show, the Lumetallix lead testing product was pitted against an XRF gun to demonstrate that the XRF is a far superior tool for identifying lead hazards, essentially attempting to discredit our instant lead test by highlighting false...
Rental Registry Anyone
There is a new mandate in many parts of the country that is being done in the name of healthy housing. Here is a list of some of them that are popping up all over. Part of it has to do with lead hazards found in homes, and that is where we come in. Other issues can be...