Lowe’s to pay $500,000 in EPA settlement

Washington, D.C. -- Lowe's Home Centers has agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty for violating federal rules governing lead paint exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday.



The chain will also implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide compliance program at its over 1,700 stores nationwide to ensure that the contractors it hires to perform work minimize lead dust from home renovation activities, as required by the federal Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule.



An EPA investigation found that Lowe's could not provide documentation to prove that contractors it hired to work at 13 stores across nine states were certified by the agency, or had used its approved kits to test for lead paint at work sites, the EPA said.