GD Friend, Inc. d/b/a Everlast Home Energy Solutions Information Sheet
Overview of Company and Location
GD Friend, Inc. d/b/a Everlast Home Energy Solutions (the Company) is located in Anaheim, California. The settlement involves renovation activities conducted at properties constructed prior to 1978, located in Anaheim and La Verne, California.
Violations
The settlement resolves alleged violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule), 40 C.F.R. Part 745, Subpart E. In the settlement, the United States alleges that the Company failed to comply with the requirement to:
- Obtain certification.
- Provide the owner a lead hazard information pamphlet; and obtain the owner’s written acknowledgement of receipt or obtain a proper certificate of mailing.
- Retain documentation that a certified renovator provided on-the-job training for workers, performed or directed workers who performed work practice tasks, and performed post-renovation cleaning verification.
- Ensure that a certified renovator discharged all of the duties required of a certified renovator.
Pollutant Reductions
It is expected that potential lead exposures and environmental contamination will be significantly reduced because the Company has taken prompt steps to come into compliance with the enforcement order.
Health and Environmental Effects
Lead exposure affects the nervous system and can cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old and younger are most at risk. If not detected early, children with high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from:
- Damage to the brain and nervous system
- Behavior and learning problems, such as hyperactivity
- Slowed growth
- Hearing problems
- Headaches
- Anemia
- In rare cases of acute lead poisoning from ingestion of lead, seizures, coma and even death.
Lead can accumulate in our bodies over time, where it is stored in bones along with calcium. During pregnancy, lead is released from bones as maternal calcium is used to help form the bones of the fetus. This is particularly true if a woman does not have enough dietary calcium. Lead can also be easily circulated from the mother's blood stream through the placenta to the fetus. Mothers with high levels of lead in their bodies can expose their developing fetuses, resulting in serious and developmental problems including:
- Miscarriages,
- Premature births or low birth weight,
- Brain damage, decreased mental abilities and learning difficulties, and/or
- Reduced growth in young children.
Civil Penalty
The settlement requires the Company to pay a civil penalty of $28,560.