FACT SHEET Draft Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities November 2021 Website: https://www.epa.gov/lead/draft-strategv-reduce-lead-exposures-arid-disparities-us- communities What is the Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed and is seeking public comment on a draft Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities (Lead Strategy). The draft Lead Strategy builds on the goals laid out in a government-wide 2018 plan1 and supports the Executive Order on Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The draft Lead Strategy lays out Agency and government- wide approaches to strengthen public health protections, address legacy lead contamination for communities with the greatest exposures and promote environmental justice. Why is the Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities important? Ongoing exposures to lead in the environment present a health risk to too many people nationwide. Very low levels of lead in children's blood have been linked to adverse effects on intellect, concentration, and academic achievement.2 The U.S. has made substantial progress in reducing lead exposure, but significant disparities remain along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines. For example, Black children and those from low-income households have persistently been found to have higher blood lead levels than non-Hispanic white children and those from higher income households.3 EPA developed the Lead Strategy to focus on eliminating these disparities by taking targeted actions to prevent childhood exposures that could lead to lifelong health effects and barriers to social and economic well- being. The draft Lead Strategy identifies four goals and commits to take various actions to address key problems that contribute to lead exposure in communities. The goals are: Goal 1: Reduce Community Exposures to Lead Sources, Goal 2: Identify Lead-Exposed Communities and Improve Their Health Outcomes, xvEPA 1 Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts. December 2018. https://ptfceh.niehs.nih.gov/resources/lead action plan 508.pdf 2 NTP (2011) https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/36443 ^ Egan et al. (2021) Eriv. Health Pers. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7932 ------- Goal 3: Communicate More Effectively with Stakeholders, and Goal 4: Support and Conduct Critical Research to Inform Efforts to Reduce Lead Exposures and Related Health Risks. To achieve these goals, the EPA has identified three approaches that will guide our actions and facilitate greater collaboration within the Agency and with federal partners: Approach 1: Reduce lead exposures locally with a focus on communities with disparities and promote environmental justice, Approach 2: Reduce lead exposures nationally through protective standards, analytical tools, and outreach, and Approach 3: Reduce lead exposures with a "whole of EPA" and "whole of government" approach. How can I get involved? The Lead Strategy is available for public comment at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA- HQ-QLEM-2021-0762 Docket number: EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0762). The Agency is also planning multiple virtual listening sessions to offer organizations and individuals another formal method to provide input. The EPA is interested in input from a wide variety of stakeholders including, but not limited to, communities disproportionately impacted by exposures to lead, state, Tribal, U.S. territory, and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations. For more information about the draft Lead Strategy and future virtual listening sessions, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/lead/draft-strategy-reduce-lead-exposures-and-disparities-us- communities EPA Publication Number: 540F21002 ------- |