At the urging of some scientists, the US government is looking at tightening lead exposure limits. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
At the urging of some scientists, the US government is looking at tightening lead
exposure limits. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
More medical researchers are reporting evidence that lead is harmful
to people at much lower levels than the current health standard. In fact,
some say, there’s no level at which lead is harmless. Cliff Davidson is a professor of
engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He’s helping advise the EPA on whether
to recommend changes in the airborne lead standard. Davidson says some
of the lead is in topsoil and came from leaded gasoline which was banned long ago:
“…And every time there’s a strong wind, that soil becomes
airborne and a certain amount of that which contains lead is inhaled
by people.”
Davidson says children playing in playgrounds near highways may also take the lead in
through their mouth. The new EPA recommendations may not come until at least next
year.
For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach