WASHINGTON — The amount of lead that can be emitted into the air in the United States will be reduced dramatically under a new rule the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday.
It was the first new rule on airborne lead in 30 years, and it came in response to more than 6,000 scientific studies since 1990 that show lead is dangerous to the human body at much lower levels than previously known.
The EPA was under a court order to complete its review for a new lead standard.
The studies have linked low levels of lead to damage to children’s nervous systems that can lead to IQ loss, poor academic achievement and learning disabilities, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said in announcing the standard. In adults, it can cause increased blood pressure and decreased kidney function.
Children are especially vulnerable. Airborne lead can be inhaled but also contaminates soil. The main way humans are exposed, however, is from ingesting tainted dirt or dust, as when children play in a polluted area and put their hands in their mouths.
The EPA last set a standard for lead at 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air in 1978. The new standard is 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter.
The new standard was in line with what EPA staff scientists and an independent body of science advisers said was necessary.
“Despite the dramatic decrease in environmental lead exposure, lead toxicity remains a major public health problem,” the science advisory panel reported.
Emissions of lead into the air dropped by 97 percent since 1978, mainly because the government banned it in gasoline, Johnson said. But today more than 16,000 facilities emit 1,300 tons of lead into the air each year.
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Counties that violate new lead limit
Madison County in southern Illinois near St. Louis is one of 18 counties in violation of a new standard for airborne lead based on 2005-2007 data from the EPA. The others are:
Alabama: Pike County
Colorado: Adams County, Denver County
Florida: Hillsborough County
Indiana: Delaware County
Minnesota: Dakota County
Missouri: Iron County, Jefferson County
New Jersey: Middlesex County
Ohio: Cuyahoga County, Fulton County, Logan County
Pennsylvania: Beaver County, Berks County, Carbon County
Tennessee: Sullivan County
Texas: Collin County
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How clean is your air?
Search our EPA-based online database by county, company name or address for polluters in your area at chicagotribune.com/air
