Fulfilling my lackey role for the Union of Concerned Scientists, I wrote this note to the EPA Administrator:
Dear Administrator Johnson,
I am writing regarding Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
I am extremely disturbed to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency is considering removing lead from the list of pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act. I urge the EPA to instead strengthen its commitment to control this known dangerous pollutant.
It’s well established that lead is one of the most harmful toxins to humans, especially hazardous to the developing brains of children. While the Clean Air Act and federal lead standards have been laudably successful in reducing lead concentrations in the air we breathe, removing lead from the list of regulated emissions represents a step backward in protecting public health. In the time since the current lead emissions standards were enacted, the Centers for Disease Control have revised downward their threshold for lead poisoning, and continue to hold that there exists no safe level of lead intake. Therefore, instead of removing lead from the list of regulated pollutants, the EPA should be making moves to further reduce lead pollution, especially in localities near industrial lead emitters.
Please fulfill your obligation under the Clean Air Act to protect American health and safety by allowing the best available science to guide the agency’s decisions. Retain and strengthen lead emissions standards and monitoring.