Thanks for addressing this. There has not been a lot of attention given to this and most contractors are not even aware of the new law. You are spot on with how this will affect homeowners. Contractors are going to be forced to raise prices. Not only are prices going to be affected by the cost of training, they will be affected by the stringent work practice standards contractors must follow. These requirements are expensive and extremely time consuming.

[...] of the Calfinder blog summarizes: While it’s hard to determine exactly how much these regulations will change the [...]

This law will increase the costs of home renovations in two ways. First, it will reduce competition because many contractors simply won’t do small renovation jobs any longer with the huge penalties for failure to meet the regs.
Second, previously when an electrician or plumber needed to get behind a wall to make a change or update, he did that, and hired a plasterer to replace and re-apaint the wall that had been opened. Now
he has to distrubte pamplets, get owner’s signed acknowledgment of receipt of EPA pamplet, then don a Tyvek suit, grab a respirator, seal off the area, and remove the section of wall. Hours of additional labor.

If you don’t think this will increase costs to consumners, just ask any contractor who’s paid for the EPA accredited training. The real quetion is whether the “health gains” cited are real, or whether this is just another government feel-good regulation made by some bureaucrat with no skin in the game.

Tony, there’s a key that says “Caps Lock” and if used correctly can turn off the all capitalization function.
Is the EPA wrong for wanting to reduce the amount of carcinogens I breathe everyday? Is it wrong for wanting to make sure the paint in my home is safe and not leaking poisons and harmful gases into my home? I’m sorry, but if you want to die in the next few years, be my guest. Otherwise, I’m happy knowing that the EPA is looking out for me, my future children, and our planet.