How EPA’s Proposed Lead Dust Rules Would Impact Wisconsin
Biden administration seeks to lower threshold of lead considered hazardous in buildings.
This story was originally published by Wisconsin Watch.
Aiming to reduce childhood lead exposure, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a rule that would require property owners to clean up any reportable amount of lead dust detected on floors and window sills at pre-1978 homes and child care facilities.
The proposal, announced in July, would lower the threshold of lead considered hazardous — and therefore requiring abatement — on floors and window sills. It would also lower dust-lead clearance levels: how much lead may linger for abatement to be considered complete.
Landlords still would not be required to proactively test for lead under the proposal. In Wisconsin, local health departments typically require lead testing at properties only after a child is found to be lead poisoned. But the EPA rule, if finalized, could reduce the lead exposures of 250,000 to 500,000 U.S. children younger than six each year, the EPA estimates.
The current dust-lead hazard standard is 10 micrograms per square foot (mcg/ft2) on floors and 100 mcg/ft2 on window sills. The proposal would shrink that standard to any reportable lead level greater than zero.
Clearance levels under the new rule would drop from 10 to 3 mcg/ft2 for floors; from 100 to 20 mcg/ft2 for window sills; and from 400 to 25 mcg/ft2 for window troughs. The EPA considers those levels the lowest that can be “reliably and effectively achieved.”
The changes would ensure more thorough clean-ups at abated properties, said Michael Mannan, director of home environmental health for the Milwaukee Health Department.
“That just means they have to do a better job cleaning and making sure there’s even less dust there, which is a good thing,” Mannan said.
Lead is a neurotoxin that damages the brain and nervous system, especially in young children. Children can be poisoned by ingesting lead paint, lead-tainted water, soil, dust or other lead-based products.
No level of lead in blood is considered safe for children, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The EPA rule could hold large implications for property owners, said Heiner Giese, an attorney and lobbyist for the Rental Property Association of Wisconsin. It could crimp housing supply because landlords might be more wary of renting out old homes in Milwaukee for fear of pricier lead abatement, he said.
“I think it’s going to make property owners leery of owning any property in an older area where children live, because now you’re possibly going to get a lead order which is going to be expensive and potentially lead to liability,” Giese said.
The EPA is accepting public comments on the proposal until Oct. 2.
The nonprofit Wisconsin Watch (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with WPR, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by Wisconsin Watch do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
More about the Lead Crisis
- Baldwin Delivers Over $83 Million to Replace Lead Pipes, Expand Access to Safe Drinking Water - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - May 2nd, 2024
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement on Milwaukee Designation as Workforce Hub - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Apr 26th, 2024
- Biden Announces Milwaukee As New “Workforce Hub” For Lead Pipe Removal - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 25th, 2024
- Senator Baldwin Delivers Nearly $2 Million to Keep Wausau Families Safe from Lead Contamination - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Apr 12th, 2024
- IRS Rules that Homeowners Won’t Have to Pay Additional Taxes for Subsidized Replacement of Lead Pipes - Milwaukee Water Works - Feb 29th, 2024
- Milwaukee Makes It Far Easier To Replace Your Lead Service Line - Jeramey Jannene - Dec 18th, 2023
- Congresswoman Gwen Moore Praises Biden Administration Effort to Remove Lead Pipes in 10 Years - U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore - Nov 30th, 2023
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Partnership with 10 Wisconsin Communities to Accelerate Lead Service Line Replacement as Part of Investing in America Agenda - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Nov 2nd, 2023
- Evers, DNR Announce $402 Million Funding to Improve Local Drinking Water - Henry Redman - Oct 24th, 2023
- How EPA’s Proposed Lead Dust Rules Would Impact Wisconsin - Farrah Anderson - Aug 30th, 2023
Read more about Lead Crisis here