EPA Announces New Steps to Protect Americans from Lead Poisoning

[Bob J]

Something to keep an eye on.....

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpres...db41c4a8c1f1d2d88525761e0056dfed!OpenDocument

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a series of steps to increase protections against and raise awareness of lead-based products in our environment and communities, particularly to prevent lead poisoning in children. The steps announced today are:

· Additional proposed requirements to protect children from lead-based paint
· A new effort to ban the manufacture of lead in tire weights
· A lead poisoning prevention video contest, asking people to submit videos demonstrating steps that can be taken to prevent childhood lead poisoning

“As both EPA Administrator and as a mother, my highest priority is protecting our children from environmental threats in the places where they live, play and learn. Lead is still present in many of our neighborhoods, but we can limit exposure to children and adults by working together on comprehensive actions like these,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We're committed to giving our nation’s children the fullest protection possible, and giving parents clear assurance that their children are safe from harm.”

The additional requirements on lead-based paint that EPA intends to propose are the result of a settlement of litigation brought by the Sierra Club, the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning and other stakeholder groups in 2008. The settlement calls for proposed revisions to the 2008 rule governing lead safe work practices used during repair, remodeling and renovations to reduce exposures to lead-based paint hazards for young children, the most sensitive population, as well as for older children and adults.

EPA will propose to expand lead safe work practices and other protective requirements for renovation and painting work involving lead paint to most buildings built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned for residential use. Under the proposed requirements, renovation firms would have to conduct tests to ensure that lead levels in dust comply with EPA’s regulatory standards after certain renovation, repair, and painting activities are performed and provide information to building occupants on the lead safe work practices utilized during renovations.

The agency is proposing that lead safe work practices be required at the vast majority of residential buildings and public and commercial buildings undergoing exterior renovations that involve lead-based paint. EPA will determine whether renovations in the interior of public and commercial buildings create hazardous levels of lead dust.

EPA will undertake at least three separate rulemakings to expand coverage and strengthen requirements of the 2008 Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which will be available for public comment.

EPA will also pursue a ban on the manufacture and distribution of lead tire weights in response to a 2009 petition from the Ecology Center, the Sierra Club and other NGOs requesting that the agency establish regulations prohibiting the manufacture, processing, and distribution of lead tire weights. Lead weights are used predominately in the tire replacement market to balance tires of autos and light trucks in the United States. They can fall off tires and then break down and contaminate soil, wash into sewers, or end up being transported to municipal landfills or incinerators. EPA estimates that 2,000 tons of lead from tire weights are lost from vehicles and ultimately end up in the environment each year. Tire weights without lead are already being used and can be effectively substituted.

Finally, in order to further educate the public on the potential dangers of lead poisoning, EPA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are soliciting creative videos from the public for a lead poisoning prevention video contest.

The three agencies are interested in videos that convey easy, low-cost steps that can be taken to prevent childhood lead poisoning and inspire individuals and communities to change their behavior to prevent exposure to this harmful chemical. Examples of possible video topics include:

· Educating the public about the dangers of lead poisoning in children
· Steps you can take to prevent children from lead dust poisoning if they spend time in older homes, schools, or child care settings
· The importance of hiring a trained professional to conduct safe renovation, repair or painting work that involves lead-based paint
· Simple safe work practices to follow when renovating a home with lead-based paint
· The importance of getting your child tested for lead if you live in an older home.

The deadline for entries is October 1, 2009 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The winners will be awarded cash prizes in the amount of $2,500 (1st prize), $1,500 (2nd prize) and $1,000 (3rd prize). Winning videos will be featured on EPA, CDC and HUD’s Web sites. Winners will be announced during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 25-31, 2009.

Lead causes a variety of adverse health effects, including brain and nervous system disorders, high blood pressure and hypertension, and reproductive problems. For children, even low levels of exposure to lead can cause a host of developmental effects such as learning disabilities, decreased intelligence, and speech, language, and behavioral problems, which can impact children for a lifetime.

More information on today’s announcements: http://www.epa.gov/lead/

 

[terraformer]

No, I wouldn't worry about this. These are places where lead has an alternative and is being put into the environment in uncontrolled ways. Lead is a naturally occurring element. But when put onto roads, the spillway and drainage mechanism carries it into drinking water and/or fishing grounds. By far, toy and chipped trim paint in the home is the single largest source of lead in children. That is primarily where they are focused, and the tire balancer thing is so easy to deal with. I would rather see that lead go to bullets anyhow. I would also like to see lead sinkers go the way of the dodo bird too. It is not required to make a effective sinker.

 

[Bob J]

No problem.... Thought I would post since you never know where these things are going to go....

As long as it doesn't impact our bullets..... Solid copper shoots but not as well and who can afford it.....

No, I wouldn't worry about this. These are places where lead has an alternative and is being put into the environment in uncontrolled ways. Lead is a naturally occurring element. But when put onto roads, the spillway and drainage mechanism carries it into drinking water and/or fishing grounds. By far, toy and chipped trim paint in the home is the single largest source of lead in children. That is primarily where they are focused, and the tire balancer thing is so easy to deal with. I would rather see that lead go to bullets anyhow. I would also like to see lead sinkers go the way of the dodo bird too. It is not required to make a effective sinker.

 

[WILDCATT]

lead

teraformer:I would like to see you hung with your liberal ideas.the camel got under the tent with remarks like that.the original intent was "FOR THE CHILDREN.stop them from chewing on the window sills. or what ever.I am 85 and never had lead poisoning,but I did have medium high levels from wash ing parts in gas.gun control started in mass in 1906 to prevent the oposition republicans from protection themselves from the democrate thugs at the polls.
and things were not bad untill the dem got control of the legislation.
check it out who pushed the gun bills.

 

[Pilgrim]

It's been proven (don't ask me where I've read it, but I've seen it several places) that lead in/on the ground will not leach into the water table.

 

[drgrant]

That is primarily where they are focused, and the tire balancer thing is so easy to deal with. I would rather see that lead go to bullets anyhow.

Yeah, and it'll cost 3+ times as much to buy. Used wheel weights are a PRIMARY source of lead for bullet casting, as they're way cheaper to acquire than bars of real lead. They also generally have the right hardness right out of the gate, instead of the smelter/caster having to make a special alloy. Linotype is the other cheap source, but I don't even know if those machines exist anymore.

I would also like to see lead sinkers go the way of the dodo bird too. It is not required to make a effective sinker.

What other metal is as cheap as lead that is equally as weight dense? Bismuth? Bismuth is big money per pound.

ETA: I think these regs are more crap laws/regs that we don't need. This country is already regulated to death as it is.


-Mike

 

[Fixxah]

What a bunch of BS. I am going to join the club again just so I can sift the berms for lead. I gotta go, need more WW for bullets.

 

[RI_John]

I'm going to go eat some paint chips in protest!!!

 

[TomH]

It's been proven (don't ask me where I've read it, but I've seen it several places) that lead in/on the ground will not leach into the water table.

Shh, no need to insert facts into their banning agenda.

 

[terraformer]

It's been proven (don't ask me where I've read it, but I've seen it several places) that lead in/on the ground will not leach into the water table.

It's true so long as the pH is relatively neutral.

ETA: However, not all water supplies are ground water. Anything that impacts surface water will effect any reservoir system.

 

[terraformer]

Yeah, and it'll cost 3+ times as much to buy. Used wheel weights are a PRIMARY source of lead for bullet casting, as they're way cheaper to acquire than bars of real lead. They also generally have the right hardness right out of the gate, instead of the smelter/caster having to make a special alloy. Linotype is the other cheap source, but I don't even know if those machines exist anymore.

You need to also account for the drop in demand from not using lead in the wheel weights.

What other metal is as cheap as lead that is equally as weight dense? Bismuth? Bismuth is big money per pound.

There is no need for density, just weight. So if you have a slightly larger (30%) sinker with the same weight, who cares.

ETA: I think these regs are more crap laws/regs that we don't need. This country is already regulated to death as it is.

But if you are going to have them, this one is not where I would fight.

 

[terraformer]

I'm going to go eat some paint chips in protest!!!

I think you are way past that...

 

[Dick]

It's been proven (don't ask me where I've read it, but I've seen it several places) that lead in/on the ground will not leach into the water table.

I'd honestly like that to be true, but unfortunately it's not. Elemental lead does leach from soil into groundwater in quantities that can potentially be hazardous to human health, particularly when the rainwater that's doing the leaching is acidic, as it is just about everywhere, and especially so here in the Northeast.

 

[hikerlt]

guess you can kiss your backyard plinking range goodbye....

and if you have one, when you try to sell your house/land, I bet the real estate transfers in the future will now require notification to the new owners of the environmental hazard that was created

the anti's will find a way to kill the 2nd amendment, one way or another...

 

[terraformer]

guess you can kiss your backyard plinking range goodbye....

and if you have one, when you try to sell your house/land, I bet the real estate transfers in the future will now require notification to the new owners of the environmental hazard that was created

the anti's will find a way to kill the 2nd amendment, one way or another...

Even in MA, this is not an issue. Granted, people have tried to make it an issue, but the amount of toxics in MA soil above and beyond lead are so high, we all live in toxic waste dumps effectively. If they go after lead, they end up opening the door for everything else.

 

[rep308]

No lead but don't worry about the mercury in the compact florescent bulbs

 

[terraformer]

No lead but don't worry about the mercury in the compact florescent bulbs

That mercury thing is blown WAY out of proportion. If you wipe the floor, you are good. And ironically, and sadly, there are efforts to engineer out the mercury simply to counteract the false assertions by critics.

 

[Blitz1]

I think you are way past that...

You read my mind!!

 

[In_God_We_Trust]

That mercury thing is blown WAY out of proportion. If you wipe the floor, you are good. And ironically, and sadly, there are efforts to engineer out the mercury simply to counteract the false assertions by critics.

0.00609 ppm in the air is nothing to sneeze at (based on the molecular weight of mercury and the OSHA occupational exposure).

 

[terraformer]

0.00609 ppm in the air is nothing to sneeze at (based on the molecular weight of mercury and the OSHA occupational exposure).

I never said it was a great thing. But the prevailing BS is that one needs to have a hazmat team in and your home is now a TRI site. Neither is true. The rational response is open window, clean fragments off floor, preferably with gloves or don't touch things directly, wipe floor. And since the exposure is limited to one event, most following the above precautions will recover completely without any treatment.

 

[In_God_We_Trust]

I never said it was a great thing. But the prevailing BS is that one needs to have a hazmat team in and your home is now a TRI site. Neither is true. The rational response is open window, clean fragments off floor, preferably with gloves or don't touch things directly, wipe floor. And since the exposure is limited to one event, most following the above precautions will recover completely without any treatment.

Exactly!

That is like calling 911 when McDonald's shorts you on a burger.

 

[Jose]

the tire balancer thing is so easy to deal with. I would rather see that lead go to bullets anyhow.

IT DOES. They are a major source of lead for DIY casters.