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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

16 Years Later, EPA Lead Rule Disappoints

Yesterday, EPA announced a new standard for exposure to lead paint debris created during home renovations. The agency missed a statutory deadline by only 12 years.

The Los Angeles Times has the scoop on the new rule:

The EPA's rule, which will take effect in April 2010, covers all pre-1978 houses, apartments, child-care facilities and schools occupied by children under 6 or pregnant women.

Builders, painters, electricians and others will have to be trained and certified in lead abatement procedures. They will be prohibited from using sandblasters, torches or other power tools that stir up lead dust, and they must post warning signs, keep residents out of work areas and contain and clean up dust and debris.

In 1992, Congress passed a law charging EPA with the responsibility of developing regulations which would require renovators to be adequately trained in the dangers of lead paint and the proper methods for removing or painting over it. According to the law, EPA was to finish work on the regulation by 1996.

The delay has real consequences. According to Patrick MacRoy, Executive Director of the Alliance for Healthy Homes, "In the 16 years since we've been waiting for this rule, at least 17 million children have been exposed to harmful levels of lead unnecessarily, permanently losing IQ points as a result."

After such a protracted rulemaking, one would hope the final rule would hit the nail on the head. But critics say the new standard is too weak. From the LA Times:

After the EPA proposed its rule in 2006, many physicians and other experts, including an EPA scientific advisory panel and the American Academy of Pediatricians, said it didn't go far enough. They said that contractors should be required to verify that no lead dust remained in the homes and that the requirements should apply to all pre-1978 homes, not just ones with children under 6.