US govt to tighten lead emissions standards
The US Environmental Protection Agency unveiled plans on Thursday to significantly strengthen lead emissions standards, in the first revision of the regulations for 30 years.
The proposals would reduce the amount of lead legally allowed in the air from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air to between 0.1 and 0.3 micrograms per cubic meter, the EPA said in a statement.
"By tackling lead emissions, EPA is keeping America's clean air progress moving forward," said the agency's administrator, Stephen Johnson. "With today's proposal, we can write the next chapter in America's clean air story."
The agency said it would also welcome comments on changing the lead levels to a range of less than 0.10 to 0.50 micrograms per cubic meter. Its proposals will be open for public consultation for 60 days.
The EPA estimates emissions of lead to the air have fallen nearly 98 percent nationwide since 1980, largely because of the phase-out of lead in gasoline, and levels are generally below the standard introduced in 1978.
But evidence from more than 6,000 studies since 1990 indicates that lead in the blood -- either through inhalation or more commonly, ingestion -- "can cause harm at much lower levels than previously understood," the agency said.
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