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The EPA recently announced a proposal to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years. The Agency is also proposing additional improvements to protect public health, such as lowering the lead action level and improving sampling protocols used by water systems. […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine NIOSH’s new resource for information on how to protect workers from lead exposure while working with lead pipes. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a new resource […]
The EPA estimates approximately 9.2 million lead pipe lines are used to carry drinking water to homes across the United States. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made $15 billion available through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to provide loans in support of lead pipe replacement projects in cities across the nation. “Washington, Oregon, Maine […]
An Augusta, Georgia, battery manufacturer faces $160,727 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for exposing employees to unsafe levels of lead, the agency announced September 27. OSHA made its determination based on personal air monitoring of workers and lead accumulation on respirators and counters in areas where workers took their lunch breaks. The […]
The EPA recently released a new resource for federal, state, tribal, and local government enforcement practitioners to use during all stages of environmental enforcement and compliance monitoring activities designed to eliminate harmful exposures to lead paint in housing. The Environmental Justice Toolkit for Lead Paint Enforcement Programs is a compilation of best practices and supports […]
The EPA recently unveiled its “Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities” to advance its objectives to protect the public from lead, with a renewed focus upon high-risk communities. The Agency announced the strategy during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week in Omaha, Nebraska, which was once home to a large lead smelter […]
On June 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on revisions to the agency’s construction and general industry lead standards (87 Federal Register (FR) 38343). OSHA is considering changes to the standards’ criteria for worker medical removal, as well as action levels (Als) and permissible exposure […]
On December 16, 2021, the Biden-Harris administration released its Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan (LPPAP), which includes a commitment to replace all lead pipes in America within a decade. The plan details the release of $2.9 billion in infrastructure funding and an announcement of upcoming stricter EPA enforcement to protect public health. In conjunction […]
California’s Department of Public Health must notify the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) when a worker’s blood lead level tests at or above 20 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) under a new state law.
In its proposed amendments to the federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), the EPA estimates that, nationwide, there are between 6.3 million and 9.3 million homes that receive drinking water through lead service lines (LSLs). (Uncertainty about the actual number of LSLs underlies the proposed requirement that public water systems (PWSs) inventory the LSLs in […]