Register for EPA’s Webinar on Proposal to Strengthen Lead-Based Paint Standards
Join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on August 23, 2023, at 2 p.m. EDT for a webinar on the Agency’s recent proposal to strengthen lead-based paint standards to protect against childhood lead exposure. EPA will present an overview of the proposed changes to the dust-lead hazard standards (DLHS) and dust-lead clearance levels (DLCL) and provide opportunities for stakeholders to comment on this proposal.
The new rule, which EPA proposed August 1, would strengthen the removal of lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 buildings and child care facilities, known as abatement activities. The new DLHS, which are used to identify hazardous lead in dust on floors and window sills, would change to any reportable level above zero reported by an EPA-recognized laboratory. The DLCL, which are used to determine whether an abatement activity is successful at removing dust-lead hazards, would change to 3 micrograms per square foot (μg/ft²) for floors, 20 μg/ft² for window sills and 25 μg/ft² for window troughs.
If finalized, this rule is estimated to reduce the lead exposures of approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under age six per year by protecting them from dangerous dust generated from lead-based paint.
EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed rule until October 2, 2023, via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2023-0231 at www.regulations.gov.