“Contaminants like lead that can cause behavioral and learning disabilities and create a lifetime of challenges,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.”
To ensure the most vulnerable Americans are adequately protected from exposure to lead from the air, EPA will reconsider some of its lead air pollution monitoring requirements, Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced today. Even at low levels, lead exposures can damage a child’s IQ, learning and memory.
“We have a fundamental responsibility to protect every child from environmental threats, especially contaminants like lead that can cause behavioral and learning disabilities and create a lifetime of challenges,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re putting in place rigorous standards to prevent contamination. To make them fully effective, we need close interaction and monitoring in the communities where harmful levels of airborne lead are most likely to be found.”
Lead that is emitted into the air can be inhaled or can be ingested after it settles out of the air. Ingestion is the main route of human exposure. Children are the most susceptible because they are more likely to ingest lead and their bodies are developing rapidly. Exposures to low levels of lead early in life have been linked to damage to IQ, learning, memory and behavior. There is no known safe level of lead in the body.
For more information about lead:
Basic Information – Basics about lead air pollution.
Health and Environment – Effects of lead air pollution.
Lead Standards – Links to technical information related to setting the national air quality standards for lead.
Lead Implementation – Programs and requirements for reducing lead air pollution.
Regulatory Actions – Links to proposed and final rules, fact sheets, and other rulemaking documents.
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Children are so vulnerable to chemical exposure. We were staggered when we discovered the amount of chemicals such as fomaldehyde that are added to textiles to make them ‘easy care’ and crease resistant and sometimes even heavy metals are present. One to watch for particularly if you are doing up a room for a new baby! We now offer cushions in organic hemp as our first contribution to a cleaner, healthier world, with more to come, curtains, fabric etc.