A one-day lead-based safety certification course for companies that perform renovation work for payment will be offered by Southwestern Michigan College Saturday.

The class, which will be held in the M-TEC facility located in the Harry T. Gast Building on the Niles Area Campus, will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will cost $195. The course fee includes all training materials and a continental breakfast.

Participants who successfully complete this eight-hour, EPA-approved training course will obtain certification in Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting.

Beginning April 2010, any renovation work done for payment, including painting, must be performed by an EPA-certified company using persons trained in lead-safe work practices. This includes any renovation to a residential dwelling built before 1978 that is child-occupied.

Each job must be done by a certified renovator to ensure safe lead work practices.

This course does not meet the four-hour supplemental training course requirements for those individuals already certified as a lead abatement supervisor, or have successfully completed the eight-hour lead-safe work practices course and who wish to become a certified renovator.

Participants must score at least 70 percent on the examination.

To register, contact Denice Tropp-Yates at (269) 687-5645 or by email at dtroppyates@swmich.edu.