Getting The Lead Out of California's Air
Monday, July 14, 2008
Although lead has been banned from paint and gasoline, it's still polluting the air. Many Californians may not realize it, but industrial facilities, refineries and even airports in the Golden State and across the country continue to release hundreds of tons of lead into the air every year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead emissions can be found in every county of the state, making California's air quality one of the worst for airborne lead pollution.
The agency is proposing tougher standards, but Avi Kar with the Natural Resources Defense Council says they're not tough enough. He warns that the EPA standards, if approved, would continue to expose children to lead levels that have been scientifically linked to the loss of at least one IQ point, on average.
"For the child who is not the average child, who's not so fortunate, who has more lead in their blood, it could mean significantly more IQ loss."
Research shows lead exposure not only causes brain development problems in children, but also is linked to heart, lung and kidney problems in adults.
The EPA maintains that the new rules represent a big improvement over current standards. Kar agrees they'are better, but he says that since the EPA is updating the rules, the agency should follow the advice of its scientific advisers and adopt even tougher regulations.
"The science has progressed quite a bit. We've learned that lead is dangerous at far lower levels than we previously thought. The last time EPA looked at the issue was 15 years ago, and they didn't make any changes to their rule then."
The EPA is accepting public comments on the new standards through August 4.
An interactive map of lead emitters in California is available at www.nrdc.org.
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