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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a document titled:
Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities (October 2022) (“Strategy”)
The two key objectives of the Strategy are stated to include:
- How EPA will utilize its statutory regulatory authorities and resources to reduce lead exposure in communities overburdened by pollution
- Promotion of the Biden Administration’s environmental justice and equity policies
The initiatives outlined in the Strategy include:
- Reduction of community exposures to lead sources
- Identification of communities with high lead exposures/improvement of health outcomes (i.e., reduction of blood lead levels)
- Facilitate engagement with communities, stakeholders, and interest groups
- Commitment to replace lead pipes and support lead paint removal
- Undertake research to inform efforts to reduce lead exposures and associated health risks
The Strategy is intended to complement the previously issued 2018 Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposure. The 2018 Plan focused to a great extent on protecting children’s environmental health. However, EPA states that the Strategy will emphasize reducing lead exposure in communities with persistent disparities in children’s blood levels.
The Strategy acknowledges the prior regulatory actions undertaken by EPA and other federal agencies that have reduced lead exposure in certain settings such as:
- Use of lead in automotive gasoline
- Elimination of lead in paint
- Lead-soldered food containers
- Plumbing water system components (i.e., pipes, fittings, soldered fixtures)
A copy of the Strategy can be downloaded here.
