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EPA is reviewing existing regulatory dust-lead hazard standards for target housing and Child Occupied Facilities (COFs), and the definition of lead-based paint for non-target housing. On March 6, 1996, the EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a joint final regulation that, under section 401 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), adopted the statutory definition of lead-based paint as "paint or other surface coatings that contain lead equal to or in excess of 1.0 milligram per square centimeter or 0.5 percent by weight." On January 5, 2001, EPA issued a final regulation that, under section 403 of the TSCA, established regulatory dust-lead hazard standards of 40 µg/ft2 for floors and 250 µg/ft2 for interior window sills. On August 10, 2009, EPA received a petition requesting that EPA take action to lower EPA's regulatory dust-lead hazard standards and the definition of lead-based paint. On October 22, 2009, EPA responded to the petition, agreeing to initiate a proceeding to determine whether the dust-lead hazard standards, and the definition of lead-based paint for non-target housing should be revised. On August 24, 2016, advocates filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, asking the court to compel EPA to make these revisions. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2018, and was issued in compliance with the December 27, 2017, decision of the Ninth Circuit, and the subsequent March 26, 2018, order that directed the EPA "to issue a proposed rule within ninety (90) days from the filed date of this order." Scientific advances made since the promulgation of the 2001 rule clearly demonstrate that exposure to low levels of lead result in adverse health effects. Moreover, since CDC has stated that no safe level of lead in blood has been identified, the reductions in children's blood lead levels as a result of this rule would help reduce the risk of adverse cognitive and developmental effects in children. Therefore, EPA proposed to change the dust-lead hazard standards from 40 µg/ft2 and 250 µg/ft2 to 10 µg/ft2 and 100 µg/ft2 on floors and window sills, respectively. These standards apply to most pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, such as day care centers and kindergarten facilities. In addition, EPA proposed to make no change to the definition of lead-based paint because the Agency currently lacks sufficient information to support such a change.

Statement of Need:

The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2018, and was issued in compliance with the December 27, 2017, decision of the Ninth Circuit, and the subsequent March 26, 2018, order that directed the EPA "to issue a proposed rule within ninety (90) days from the filed date of this order."

Summary of the Legal Basis:

EPA is proposing this rule under sections 401, 402, 403, and 404 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., as amended by title X of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 (also known as the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 or Title X) (Pub. L. 102-550).

Alternatives:

EPA intends to finalize a rulemaking identifying hazardous levels of lead in dust on floors and window sills. While EPA has proposed standards of 10 mg/ft2 and 100 mg/ft2 for floors and window sills respectively, EPA is encouraging public comment on the full range of candidate standards analyzed in the associated Technical Support Document as alternatives to the proposal, including the option not to change the current standard. EPA has also specifically requested comment on an option that would reduce the floor dust standard but leave the sill dust standard unchanged (e.g., 20 mg/ft2 for floors and 250 mg/ft2 for window sills, or 10 mg/ft2 for floors and 250 mg/ft2 for window sills), since reducing floor dust lead has the greatest impact on children's health.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

Costs. This rule is estimated to result in costs of $66 million to $119 million per year. Benefits. This rule would reduce exposure to lead, resulting in benefits from avoided adverse health effects. For the subset of adverse health effects where the results were quantified, the estimated annualized benefits are $317 million to $2.24 billion per year using a 3% discount rate, and $68 million to $479 million using a 7% discount rate. There are additional unquantified benefits due to other avoided adverse health effects in children, including attention-related behavioral problems, greater incidence of problem behaviors, decreased cognitive performance, reduced post-natal growth, delayed puberty and decreased kidney function.

Risks:

This rulemaking addresses the risk of adverse health effects associated with lead dust exposures in children living in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, as well as associated potential health effects in this subpopulation.