New TSCA Lead Dust Health Risk Standards

EPA has been petitioned under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) to lower the residential lead dust hazard standards. Pursuant to section 403 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA promulgated regulations on 2001 to establish standards for lead-based paint hazards in most pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.

Under these standards, lead is considered a hazard when equal to or exceeding 40 ug/sf of lead in dust on floors, 250 ug/sf of lead in dust on interior window sills, and 400 ppm of lead in bare soil in children's play areas or 1200 ppm average for bare soil in the rest of the yard.

In addition to the petition, the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee (CASAC) has advised EPA that based on recent epidemiological studies the current hazard standards are insufficiently protective. Therefore, based on the APA petition and CASAC recommendation, EPA is currently analyzing current science to determine if new regulatory standards are required under TSCA section 403. EPA expects new standards would be published in 2012.

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