Washington, DC — In a surprise move, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has formally withdrawn its voluntary program for preventing childhood
lead poisoning just five months after it was first unveiled, according to Federal
Register notices posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
(PEER). For the past several months, the agency had offered this voluntary program
as the reason that it was balking at adopting long overdue regulations requiring
that repairs and renovations in pre-1978 housing be conducted in a lead-safe
manner.
Congress had mandated that EPA set up a certification requirement for contractors
to ensure that workers are trained in lead-safe practices when remodeling buildings
constructed before 1978. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the deadline
for EPA to adopt these “regulations to renovation or remodeling activities”
was October 28, 1996. In 2004, however, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson scrapped
plans for renovation regulations and instead opted for a voluntary approach.
“On the issue of combating childhood lead poisoning, the Bush Administration
has dropped its final fig leaf and tacitly admitted that it is doing nothing,”
stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization is preparing a
lawsuit against EPA on the issue. “EPA’s voluntary alternative to
lead-safe regulations was such a joke that the agency could no longer keep up
this facade with a straight face.”
Renovation and repair of older residences is the principal source of lead dust
exposure to U.S. children.
EPA’s own internal reviews showed that the now-abandoned regulation would
benefit 1.4 million children under age 7, prevent at least 28,000 lead-related
illnesses each year and create net economic benefits of several billion dollars
by reducing medical and other expenses associated with high lead exposures.
As late as April 13, 2005, in response to questions posed as part of his confirmation
process, Stephen Johnson assured Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama that
regulation was unnecessary because –
“[T]he Agency is developing an education and outreach campaign that
will convey the benefits of the use of lead-safe work practices to minimize
both workers’ and homeowners’ exposure to lead dust during renovation
and remodeling. EPA is also targeting outreach efforts to expand consumer
awareness…EPA plans to launch this material by this fall and will evaluate
the effectiveness of this effort and will determine what additional steps
may be necessary, including regulation.”
One month later, on May 16, the agency quietly filed a one-word Federal Register
notice that the voluntary program had been “withdrawn” with no explanation
or elaboration. The notice did cite the date of the action as April 1, 2005,
days before Johnson wrote to the Senate extolling the voluntary approach.
“Besides the fact that EPA had budgeted no money for a massive consumer
education program, the agency has no evidence that this approach has the slightest
prospect of success,” added Ruch. “With each passing month due to
EPA’s dithering, thousands of children will be exposed to lead dust that
has permeated into their homes’ carpets, ductwork and soil, so that the
children breathe the dust for months and years to come.”
In February 2000, the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks to Children set a national goal of eliminating childhood
lead poisoning by 2010. While EPA still cites this 2010 national goal, the agency
now officially has no plans for achieving it.
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Look
at the December 13, 2004 Federal Register Notice announcing EPA’s voluntary
lead program
See
the May 16, 2005 Federal Register Notice withdrawing EPA’s voluntary lead
program
Learn
more how EPA abandoned lead-safe regulations in favor of the non-existent voluntary
program
