EPA Finalizes Rule on Lead-Based Paint Dust Standards in Residential Housing and Childcare Facilities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued new standards for lead-based paint dust in homes and childcare facilities built before 1978 to protect against childhood lead exposure. EPA’s new rule also strengthens federal requirements for certain property owners, lead-paint professionals and government agencies to identify and clean up lead paint and lead dust hazards in residential and childcare facilities.
Lead exposures have been linked to mental and physical developmental delays in children and increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancers in adults. Residential use of lead-based paint was banned in 1978. However, EPA estimates that 31 million pre-1978 homes still contain lead paint and nearly four million of those structures house children under the age of six.
The final rule significantly lowers acceptable regulatory standards for lead levels in dust on interior floors, windowsills and window troughs. The new standards represent the lowest lead levels that EPA-accredited laboratories can quickly and reliably measure, in micrograms per square foot (µg/ft2):
|
Lead Dust Location |
Old Standard (µg/ft2) |
New Standard (µg/ft2) |
|
Floors |
10 |
5 |
|
Windowsills |
100 |
40 |
|
Window Troughs |
400 |
100 |
