EPA Seeks Comments on Standards for Airborne Lead
December 19, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comments on policy options the agency is considering as it reviews the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead.
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set NAAQS for "criteria pollutants."
Currently, lead and five other major pollutants are listed as criteria pollutants, according to the EPA. The others are ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides and particulate matter.
The law also requires the EPA to periodically review the standards to ensure that they provide adequate health and environmental protection and to update those standards as necessary, said the EPA.
Lead is a metal found naturally in the environment. Also, it is emitted from some industrial processes and is present in some manufactured products, said the EPA. The major sources of lead emissions were motor vehicles such as cars and trucks and industrial sources.
Motor vehicle emissions were reduced with the phase out of leaded gasoline in the nation's motor vehicle gasoline supply, claims the EPA. Lead is currently only used as a fuel additive for aviation gasoline in some general aviation aircraft but not in commercial jet aircraft.
Larger industrial sources of lead emissions include metals processing, particularly primary and secondary lead smelters, among others. The EPA said its lead air quality monitoring strategy focuses on areas surrounding these industrial sources.
In addition to decreased airborne lead concentrations, another indicator of progress in the reduction of airborne lead in the environment is the drop in children's blood lead levels over time, said the EPA. Since the late 1970s, blood lead concentrations for children ages one to five dropped from about 15 micrograms per deciliter (:g/dL) to less than 2 :g/dL, according to the EPA.
The EPA released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), which is not a proposal but a new part of the NAAQS review process that offers an additional public comment period before the agency issues a proposed rule.
The EPA is seeking public input on the policy options under consideration as part of the lead NAAQS review. For example, the ANPR seeks comment on available scientific information, on current lead exposures for both airborne sources and other sources and on a number of lead monitoring issues. That input will help inform the agency as it develops a proposed rule, said the EPA.
The EPA is required by a consent decree to issue a proposal regarding the lead standards by May 1, 2008 and to issue a final rule by Sept. 1, 2008.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).