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Nine thousandths of one percent

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The ban turns on a single figure and the figure is very small Nine thousandths of one percent is ninety parts per million And the operative text of the regulation still says 0.06 That correction appears four separate times in the part So a reader who stops at the first number is wrong by about sevenfold The measurement basis is given twice over as well And it is calculated as lead metal The ban itself is three short paragraphs Which means the ban reaches both a product and its coating None of which reaches anything in this group References

The lowest threshold in this library. And the text still prints the old one.

The ban turns on a single figure and the figure is very small

Lead-containing paint means a surface coating in which the lead content, calculated as lead metal, is in excess of 0.009 percent by weight of the total nonvolatile content or of the dried paint film.

Nine thousandths of one percent is ninety parts per million

Which puts it an order of magnitude below anything else described across this library, and two orders below the other lead figure in it.

And the operative text of the regulation still says 0.06

The number in the definition is 0.06 percent, followed by a parenthesis noting that 0.06 percent is reduced to 0.009 percent effective August 14, 2009.

That correction appears four separate times in the part

Twice in the scope section and once in the definitions, each time noting that the reduction was mandated by Congress in section 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

So a reader who stops at the first number is wrong by about sevenfold

Which is a drafting artifact rather than an ambiguity. The parenthesis is unambiguous. But the structure means the superseded figure is the one that appears first every time.

The measurement basis is given twice over as well

By weight of the total nonvolatile content of the paint, or the weight of the dried paint film. Two bases, because wet paint and dry film are different things to weigh and both are legitimate points of measurement.

And it is calculated as lead metal

Not as a lead compound. A coating containing lead carbonate or lead chromate is assessed on the mass of lead the compound contains, which makes the figure comparable across different chemistries.

The ban itself is three short paragraphs

Paint and other similar surface-coating materials which are lead-containing paint. Toys and other articles intended for use by children that bear it. Furniture articles that bear it. All of them manufactured after February 27, 1978.

Which means the ban reaches both a product and its coating

The paint is banned as a product, and separately an article bearing it is banned. Two different parties can breach the same rule over the same coating.

None of which reaches anything in this group

Ballast, couplers, scenery material and static grass are not paint and nothing on these pages says they are, nor that any of them is a toy or article intended for use by children.

References

16 CFR 1303.2(b)(2): "Lead-containing paint means paint or other similar surface coating materials containing lead or lead compounds and in which the lead content (calculated as lead metal) is in excess of 0.06 percent (0.06 percent is reduced to 0.009 percent effective August 14, 2009) by weight of the total nonvolatile content of the paint or the weight of the dried paint film." 16 CFR 1303.1(a) and (c) carry the same parenthetical correction, noting the reduction was "mandated by Congress in section 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008". 16 CFR 1303.4 states the ban: paint and similar surface-coating materials which are lead-containing paint, toys and other articles intended for use by children that bear it, and furniture articles that bear it, manufactured after February 27, 1978. law.cornell.edu

Written from 16 CFR part 1303 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Part 1303 bans lead-containing paint and certain products bearing it; it does not govern ballast, couplers, scenery material or static grass, and it does not reach any container on this shelf. Nothing here states the lead content of anything, whether any product is a toy or article intended for use by children, or whether any coating complies with anything, and nothing here is guidance about using, stripping or disposing of paint. This shelf is shared identically by nine groups and the sewing notions property enumerates the inventory.