EPA considering stricter airborne lead regulations

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - For the first time in 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to dramatically tighten the regulations on airborne lead pollution.

The EPA is holding a public hearing on the proposed changes this week in Baltimore City.

The new standard would reduce the amount of lead allowed in the air up to 93 percent, said EPA spokeswoman Cathy Milbourne.

The proposal recommends a range of 0.1 to 0.3 micrograms per cubic meter of air, a reduction from the standard of 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter, which has been in place since 1978.

“We are taking comment on that range. We want to gather as much information as possible,” Milbourne said.

Since 1980, lead emissions have dropped nearly 98 percent, mainly because lead was phased out of gasoline, she said.

“We have taken very strong steps to reduce the lead in the environment,” she said, adding current levels are “far below” the 1978 standard.

However, officials at the National Resource Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental action group, said the proposed range isn’t strict enough.

An independent scientific committee that advises the EPA recommended no more than 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter, a standard the NRDC favors, said Avinash Kar, a staff attorney for NRDC.

“We understand lead is hazardous at much lower levels than was previously thought,” he said.

Lead emitted into the air can be inhaled or ingested once it settles, according to the EPA.

Lead poisoning causes developmental problems, cognitive decline and learning disabilities in children. Even at a level of 0.2, a child could lose one to two IQ points, which is “highly significant,” Kar said.

Adults could suffer harm to the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, kidneys and immune system.

Ruth Ann Norton, executive director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning in Baltimore City, said she was “pleased” to see the tighter restrictions.

“We are certainly glad to see progress that we have not often seen on some of these issues,” she said.

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com

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