Preventing Lead From Harming Kids Is a Top Priority, Zeldin Says

Helping families, states, and communities reduce lead poisoning is a priority, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and agency officials said this week while describing ways they’re tackling the problem.

“As a country, we’ve made great progress in lowering children’s blood lead levels over the last 50 years, but potential exposures to lead in the home and our environment still present a risk, especially for our children,” Zeldin told the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee (CHPAC) on Wednesday.

A half-million children have elevated blood lead levels, and the overall cost of lead exposure is draining $150 billion annually from the US gross domestic product, Sheila Xiah Kragie, who coordinates the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead efforts, told that committee on Thursday.

The depth of knowledge the EPA and other agencies have on the problems lead can cause, ways to identify how children are being exposed, and methods to reduce those exposures are an opportunity to make further progress, she said.

The EPA aims to prevent lead exposure through risk communication, interactions with states and communities, and engagements with private sector organizations, Kragie said.

Regulations, Grants

The EPA has relaunched its Senior Leadership Lead Coordinating Committee and its Lead Coordinating Committee, Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi said Wednesday.

That’s one of several ways agency staff are being directed to focus on lead.

Regulations including the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule and the Lead and Copper Rule are ways the agency reduces exposure, he said.

The agency also will focus on lead in soil, he told the committee and Bloomberg Law earlier this month.

The US has “dozens of sites that have lead soil contamination, either from an old smelter or something like that,” he told Bloomberg Law. Lead is the most common contaminant on Superfund sites, according to EPA information.

Superfund sites “that have languished on the national priorities list are getting the attention that they need, so that they can be returned to their communities for reuse, so that kids in those neighborhoods are better protected,” Fotouhi told the children’s health committee.

The EPA assesses site risks and designs response actions to reduce lead exposure at contaminated sites, said Teresa Booeshaghi, deputy assistant administrator for policy in EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management.

“We’re seeking ways to expedite actions beyond our current strategies” by coordinating with states, schools, local governments, public health departments, medical professionals, and other groups, she said. “We’re looking for ways to prioritize rapid soil removal in high-risk areas such as playgrounds, schools, and backyards.”

Lead in drinking water is being reduced through the Lead and Copper Rule the EPA issued in 2021, and the regulatory improvements codified in 2024, said Peggy Browne, principal deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s Office of Water, on Wednesday.

The 2021 rule required drinking water systems to identify service lines with lead pipes, while the 2024 rule, which is being challenged in court, required those pipes to be removed by 2037.

Information clarifying those rules and tools and “flexibilities” to help water utilities comply will be coming out in the next few months, Browne said. She didn’t define flexibilities, but information the agency released in June said small water systems that have too much lead can work with their regulators to choose how best to reduce those levels.

The EPA also is offering $26 million in funding for states and territories to address lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities, Kragie said.

Trained Renovators Needed

CHPAC members commended the agency for prioritizing lead poisoning prevention, offering ideas of strategies to increase lead-level blood testing for at risk children.

More professionals are needed with the skills to assess lead risks, and additional home renovators need to be trained and certified to remediate lead properly, committee members said.

Rural areas where lead goes undetected need attention, and the agency could help by working with the US Department of Agriculture, said committee member Ruth Ann Norton, president of the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative.

Enforcement of rules also is necessary, she said.

Whatever flexibilities the EPA offers water systems, it should not weaken the lead and copper rule, said Kristie Trousdale, a committee member and deputy director of the Children’s Environmental Health Network.