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Abstract
This study compared the effectiveness of using a commercially available robotic mop versus hand mopping as the second step of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's recommended three-step vacuum-mop-vacuum process to remove lead dust debris from residential floors. A total of 1,703 floors were cleaned using the robotic mop. Lead dust wipe tests from these floors were compared with 995 lead dust wipe tests for floors cleaned with hand mopping. Analysis of the dust wipes showed that cleaning floors with a robotic mop resulted in a clearance failure rate significantly lower than that obtained by cleaning floors by hand (4.8% versus 10.0%; p < .05). The use of newer technologies like robotic mops can help improve the efficiency and thoroughness of floor-cleaning efforts, as well as decrease costs associated with re-cleaning floors following regulated renovations.
Introduction
The widespread use of lead-based paint in homes constructed in the U.S. prior to 1978 remains a serious threat to health for children and adults. Remodeling activities in older homes can generate a large amount of leadcontaining dust, an important source of lead exposure in children in the U.S. (Farfel, Chisolm, & Rohde, 1994; Haynes, Lanphear, Tohn, Farr, & Rhoads, 2002). Babies exposed to lead before birth may experience developmental disorders and slowed growth, with studies showing that exposure to even small amounts of lead may result in blood-lead levels in young children that can cause negative health effects including loss of appetite, weight loss, gastrointestinal symptoms, learning difficulties, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other behavioral conditions (Bellinger, 2011; Mayo Clinic, 2016). For adults, lead exposure can lead to headache, memory loss, mood disorders, decline in mental functioning, high blood pressure, pain and tingling in the extremities, and abdominal pain. Lead has also been associated with a great probability of spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), eclampsia, and fetal development issues in pregnant women (Bellinger, 2011).
Due to lead's negative effects on health, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned lead-based paint for residential use in the U.S. in 1978 through 16 C.F.R. Part 1303, Ban of Lead-Containing Paint and Certain Consumer Products Bearing Lead-Containing Paint (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1978).
Contractors who perform work on residential structures constructed prior to 1978 may be subject to regulations pertaining to...