Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking decisive action to protect Americans from lead exposure by establishing a new, clear approach to accelerate lead cleanup at contaminated sites. EPA is updating guidance and streamlining processes for investigating and cleaning up lead in residential soil at contaminated sites and emphasizing early collaboration with state and local partners to provide multiple layers of protection for communities.

“Protecting children from harmful lead exposure is a top priority for the Trump EPA. Children can’t wait years for us to put a shovel in the dirt to clean up the areas where they live and play,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “We’re moving as quickly as possible to protect communities by using all of the tools available to us. Our children deserve fast action.”

There is no known safe level of lead in children’s blood, and exposure can severely harm mental and physical development. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer.

The Biden Administration’s January 2024 guidance hampered cleanup efforts by creating uncertainty for decision makers and the public at Superfund sites and hazardous waste cleanups. The agency’s new approach addresses inconsistencies and inefficiencies that have led to analysis paralysis slowing down progress to decrease lead exposure in residential neighborhoods at Superfund and hazardous waste sites. Now, EPA site teams will be able to expedite cleanups and effectively reduce lead exposure in affected communities.

The updated guidance establishes the following: 

• Regional screening level of 200 parts per million for lead in residential soil.
• Regional removal management level of 600 parts per million for lead in residential soil.
• Target children’s blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter to determine preliminary remediation goals.

Additionally, EPA will be implementing important process improvements to accelerate the reduction of lead exposure in communities and provide more tools to keep families and children safe. These process improvements include tools to support more nationally consistent cleanup decisions, early engagement with state and local partners, sharing best practices through the establishment of a National Center of Excellence for Residential Lead Cleanups, and specialized contracting mechanisms to leverage removal and remedial actions. The new initiative to provide layers of protection uses other tools from education to risk communication to help prevent lead exposure in communities.

EPA will continue to use site-specific factors, including exposure considerations, soil lead background levels and community input, to make informed decisions on how to best address lead exposure at each site.

EPA's program offices have coordinated comprehensive lead reduction initiatives to protect children and communities from exposure across multiple sources. This year, the Office of Water (OW) funded replacement of over 110,000 lead service lines and provided $26 million in grants to 55 states and territories for school and childcare facility testing, while the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) certified over 37,000 renovators and hundreds of specialized technicians nationwide under lead safety regulations. The Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) is advancing air quality protections through progress on lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards review and proposed new emissions standards for secondary lead smelters. Through coordinated enforcement and cleanup efforts, EPA addressed lead contamination at dozens of Superfund and Brownfields sites while ensuring compliance with safety regulations in military housing and drinking water systems. EPA will continue this work to fulfill its core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback.