The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is setting a new health standard for lead to slash the amount of the toxic metal in the nation's air by 90 per cent.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is setting a new health standard for lead to slash the amount of the toxic metal in the nation's air by 90 per cent.
EPA officials, who were under a federal court order to set a new standard by midnight Wednesday, said the new limit would better protect health, especially that of children.
"Our nation's air is cleaner today than just a generation ago, and last night I built upon this progress by signing the strongest air quality standards for lead in our nation's history," Stephen Johnson, the EPA administrator, said Thursday. "Thanks to this stronger standard, EPA will protect … children from remaining sources of airborne lead."
The new limit — 0.15 micrograms per cubic metre — is the first update to the lead standard since 1978, when it helped phase out leaded gasoline. It is a tenth of the current standard, which was 1.5 micrograms per cubic metre.
It is also more stringent than the level recommended in May by the agency's scientific advisers. In contrast, U.S. President George W. Bush's administration did not follow its own staff's advice or its science advisers when it set new health standards for smog and soot that were less stringent than recommended.
Environmentalists hailed the move, but said that the agency will have to boost monitoring to ensure that the standard is met.
"We commend EPA for taking a giant step in the right direction, but they need to greatly expand the lead monitoring network if they hope to enforce this standard," said Dr. Gina Solomon, a senior scientist with the Natural Resource Defence Council.
The new standard announced on Thursday would require the 16,000 remaining sources of lead, including smelters, metal mines and waste incinerators, to reduce their emissions. No later than October 2011, EPA will designate areas of the country that fail to meet the new standard, requiring state and local governments to find ways to reduce lead emissions.
Based on air quality data from collected from 2004-2006 as many as 14 counties across the U.S. could be in violation of the new standard.
Blood lead levels below 10 micrograms per decilitre are considered safe, according to the Health Canada standard.
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