Company History
Joe’s story of lead-based paint
Levco became a residential remodeling contractor in 2005. In 2009 I read the Surgeon Generals call to action about healthy housing and in moved me. In 2012 we had an office and were slowly evolving from what I consider a lemonade stand into a professional remodeling company. We were through the house flipping stage and on to remodeling for clients. I am a natural rule follower so when I received an official letter from the EPA on government stationery I paid attention. I was due to have a meeting with a wing of the EPA responsible for Lead Based Paint.
I have always had an affinity for older homes having grown up in one in Berkeley California. My dad was a remodeling contractor and I was hoping to follow in his footsteps but do it better than he did. What that meant exactly was an illusive mirage.
The visit was scheduled and quickly it was upon me. A middle-aged woman with a big frizzy hairdo arrived and introduced herself. Less intimidating than expected we quickly made friends and she figured out that we were on the same side of the Lead-Based Paint issue so there was common ground which I believe she found refreshing.
My only task at the time was to hand out booklets to prospective clients to sign and date. No biggie, I had a bunch of booklets. Later on, the RRP rule went into effect and the Lead-Based Paint rules added a level of seriousness. Rather than explain best practices much like the ESC Erosion and Sediment Control uses.
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KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE AND THEIR HOMES HEALTHY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
jOE lEVITCH, pRESIDENT
T RRP had training classes that mandated very specific adherence to practices that were onerous to the contractor and expensive for clients who live in their pre-1978 charming homes.
I took the training with gusto and went on to become a Risk Assessor, start a company that was called Lead Locators, and got a sband and wife team to join me using XRF technology to test for Lead lead-based paint. Our reports were second to none in the country and the EPA at least in Region 10 fell in love with us. We were teaching and testing and keeping contractors and property owners up to date on the latest.
Sadly Carter Duke passed away suddenly as a result of a tragic home accident and Gail, his wife and I decided to shut the business down.
Fast forward to the Fall of 2023. I received an email on 11-2-2023 from the EPA explaining how the 3M lead Test Swabs had stopped production and there was no replacement tool. Despite lots of hard work, nothing else is available to replace them. Not only that but the rules have not changed.
My dad always said “Find Capital in Adversity” and so I set out to discover a solution for contractors to do the right thing and follow the rules when it comes to the EPA and Lead.
From October to December working with miniaturizing XRF, EPA shot it down. Then ideas about firms that make instruments to verify stealth aircraft coatings and looking at things that react to lead in a certain way like sound, or electrical resistance, ran into a blog from Tamera Rubin, mentioning a promising chemical out of the Netherlands. Then I found the Lumatellix website and called. They were astonishingly up on what was going on in America and were excited for me to get involved. My angle is that we need to help contractors get a new EPA-recognized tool for lead testing.
Armed with a potentially viable solution to my problem. I kept on knocking on the door of the EPA and finally got an answer. They seemed to dismiss me at first but through dogged persistence, the door cracked open and they shared a path to recognition.
I was surprised in early 2024 when I was asked to distribute the existing lead testing product in the USA and through my network of contacts was able to get the product back into Amazon after being out for about a month. This is when I made Lead Locators rise from the ashes.
EPA recognition of a replacement for the 3M swabs was my main goal. Obstructions and delays marked my dealings with the EPA. There was no appetite for a revolutionary new product in the strict rule following agency.
After attending a lead and healthy housing conference in Savannah, Georgia. I discovered that there is far more need for the product in the general population and Public Health. If the EPA wants my help they can ask. I am tired of trying to explain the virtues this product. The test kit sees lead in dust in a way that nothing else does so it may be easier to help contractors in a way that does not require EPA recognition for rules to change.
Behind the scenes we are testing an making connections with the movers and shakers of the world that want to practice what they preach with a new tool to use for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. If I can keep just one child safe that would otherwise have become leaded then this fight will have been worth it.
Why Choose Us
Using Lumetallix Is The Smart Choice
Make toxic lead instantly visible to the naked eye by applying the Lumetallix reagent, causing lead to light up bright green under UV-light.
- Easy to use – simple three step process
- Accurate – 1000 times more sensitivity than swab tests
- Lab proven – industry recognized results
