Colorado Soda Blasting

Againthis is just a complete fabricationOne question, If Mr & Mrs*** knew about the lead based paint, why then, did Mrs *** have no problem breathing in the lead paint dust on three different times during the blasting process? In addition, if the ***'s knew it was lead based paint, why did they have to have the dust from the blasting tested on the evening of March 22nd

To whom it may concern:
On March 215t 2014,1 received a telephone call from Mrs. [redacted] stating that she got my card from a mutual friend, and asked if I could help her remove some paint from an interior brick wall in the rear entrance / mud room of their house. Mrs. [redacted]...

stated that she and her employees had been trying to remove the paint from the wall for the past several weeks with no success. I then asked her if the house was occupied with furniture, computers, televisions or any other pieces of property that could be damaged. I explained to her that blasting is a very dusty process and the very fine dust has a tendency to go everywhere and could damage any electronics. It is Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc.'s policy not to blast anything indoors where such items could be damaged. Mrs. [redacted] stated that it was an old empty farm house that they were in the process of restoring and that nothing of value was located in the house at that time. Mrs. [redacted] then asked if she should put up any dust barriers to control the dust. I then stated it was not necessary because it was an old farm house and eventually it would have to be cleaned before anyone could possibly move in. I did tell her that if she would put up dust barriers, it would result in a lot less clean up in the end. At that time Mrs. [redacted] asked what the cost would be. I informed her that Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. has a two hour $ 500.00 minimum. At that time Mrs. [redacted] stated that she could not afford $ 500.00. I then told her that since she was a friend of a mutual friend, and if she would assume all responsibility such as dust control and any cleanup, I would blast the wall for $ 200.00 cash. At that time she agreed to the terms set forth. I also informed Mrs. [redacted] that all bricks are not the same. Some are softer than others and cannot be blasted, but I would be happy to come out and do a test blast free of charge. 
On March 22nd 2014, at approximately 1:00 pm Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. arrived at the [redacted] property to do the test blast and possibly blast the entire wall. I immediately noticed that the front door was missing and a thin piece of plastic was hung in its place. Upon inspection, I also noticed that there was very little paint left on the wall. Most of the paint had already been removed by several coats of paint stripper and chemical paint remover. The wall was 90% coated with a greenish layer of paint remover. it was also noticed that Mrs. [redacted] had put up a dust barrier around the back porch/ mud room. 
At that time I advised Mrs. [redacted] to wait outside due to the dust and noise created by the test blast. After the test blast while the room was completely filled with dust, Mrs. [redacted] was asked to look at the wall in order to see if this would be a satisfactory result. Mrs. [redacted] entered the room and looked at the test blast. At the time Mrs. [redacted] was looking at the test blast and breathing the dust, she did not seem concerned about breathing in dust. At that time she gave the verbal O.K. to continue blasting. A short time later the employees of Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. quit blasting to inform Mrs. [redacted] that due to the absence of a full coat of paint, the brick was slightly being chewed up. Again, Mrs. [redacted] was asked to enter the dust filled room to see if she would be O.K. with the slightly chewed up brick, all the while breathing in the dust from the blasting. Again, she instructed Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. to continue blasting. Shortly thereafter Mrs. [redacted] asked if this blasting procedure would work on the wood entry way to the main part of the house I advised Mrs. [redacted] that a softer media is used to remove paint from wood. Mrs. [redacted] still wanted to see what it would do to the wood. Again, Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. did a test blast on the wood entry way. Again Mrs. [redacted] entered the dusty room, to look at the wood entry way. Again, Mrs. [redacted] stood in the back porch / mud room breathing in the dust while she inspected the test blast on the wood entry way. Again Mrs. [redacted] gave the verbal O.K, to continue blasting. Shortly after the blasting began, Mrs. [redacted] informed me that she and her husband needed to leave and asked if I would need her for anything. I told her I did not. Shortly after the blasting began, Mrs.'s Lowey's dust barrier failed. My employees immediately quit blasting and re hung the dust barrier to the best of their ability. I even had an extra man physically hold up the dust barrier to insure that no additional dust would enter the main area of the house which proved to be empty. 
At approximately 5:00 pm, I received a frantic call from Mrs. [redacted] complaining about the dust all over the house. I explained to her about the failed dust barrier and how we re hung it and held it up by hand, but when the dust barrier initially failed, that is when the dust entered the other part of the house. The main thing she was concerned about was who was going to clean up the mess. She then asked if my guys would come over that evening and clean up the mess. I told her my guys had already gone home for the day and would be working out of town the following day. I did however, offered not to cash her check and that I would send my guys over on Monday morning to help with the cleanup. Several hours later I received another call from Mrs. [redacted] stating that before my guys could begin the cleanup, she would have to get the dust tested for lead and she was going to have it done that evening. At approximately 9:00p.m. that same evening, I received another phone call stating that the dust had tested positive for the presence of lead. She then asked for the name of my insurance company. I declined stating that she was responsible for the dust control not Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. Over the next several days I received several harassing phone calls from both Mr. & Mrs. [redacted] threating to go to Revdex.com, 9News, the EPA and several other agencies if I did not agree to pay to have the lead paint removed from the entire house.
 
Mr. [redacted] sent me an email stating that I was told that it was lead paint that they wanted removed. I was never told it was lead based paint. At the time Mrs. [redacted] contacted me, she got my number off my card. Nowhere on my business card does it say that we do lead paint removal and abatement. If Mrs. [redacted] knew it was lead based paint, she also knew that I was not qualified to do such work. Mr. [redacted] states as much in an email stating that he knew we specialized in paint removal and fire and smoke remediation. The email also states that the whole house was contained with plastic as per EPA regulations. in the next paragraph, Mr. [redacted] admits that his wife asked me if she needed to put up plastic before the blasting began (I can provide the email if needed). At no time did Mr, or Mrs. [redacted] ask to see if I was a licensed contractor with all the certifications needed to do lead paint removal and abatement. In addition, Mrs. [redacted] did not seem to think it was necessary to have any type of respiratory protection during the three times she entered the dust filled room while inspecting the blasting procedure. If Mr. & Mrs. knew it was lead based paint and observed that we were not properly suited for lead based paint removal, they should have stopped the job immediately. Instead, they both stood by while the employees of Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc. continued to blast and breathe potentially deadly lead based paint. 
     Contact information: [redacted] & [redacted] 
[redacted], Greeley, CO. 
###-###-#### 
Thank you, 
[redacted] 
Colorado Soda Blasting, Inc.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  I feel it unnecessary to go back and fourth with he said/she said, I will simply state the facts so that everyone may benefit from this mistake.
 
#1 From the beginning you were told it was lead paint.  
#2 there were signs on the door stating  lead paint was being removed
#3 EPA Regulations for RRP state Contractors must follow "Lead Safe" guidelines on ANY house built before 1978.   . YOU as a contractor must assume or TEST before proceeding to work if it's a pre 1978 house to see if Lead is present and follow RRP guidelines.   If you aren't certified YOU CANNOT RENNOVATE A PRE 1978 house that has LEAD paint PERIOD!
 
 
If Colorado Soda Blasting owned by Mr. [redacted] works in the Paint Removal/Soda Blasting/Fire Restoration business, you must know these guidelines.  They were put in place in 2008.
 
EPA
EPA’s 2008 Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule (as amended in 2010 and 2011), aims to protect the public from lead-based paint hazards associated with renovation, repair and painting activities. These activities can create hazardous lead dust when surfaces with lead paint, even from many decades ago, are disturbed. The rule requires workers to be certified and trained in the use of lead-safe work practices, and requires renovation, repair, and painting firms to be EPA-certified. These requirements became fully effective April 22, 2010.
Link to EPA Guidelines
http://tempuri.org/tempuri.html 
 
 
I highly recommend that  anyone hiring a contractor to do work on their home to be familiar with the RRP guidelines for houses built pre 1978 to insure the safety of home owners, their children and anyone working on the house.  Contractors should already know these guidelines and hand you a "Renovate Right" Lead information packet before they start work.
 
As far as we are concerned,  this matter has been resolved due to you turning in an insurance claim resulting in a settlement to clean and abate the Lead dust from our house by an EPA certified firm.