By Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities  What’s New?  President Biden recently announced $3 billion in federal funding for lead service line replacement. In the third year of this historic $15 billion investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace harmful lead pipes across the U.S., there is an […]

The post Biden Announces $3B to Replace Lead Pipes – More Money Going to States with Greatest Need first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals and Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals What’s New: After an extensive review process, EPA approved Denver Water’s request to extend the variance to allow the utility to administer their Lead Reduction Program for the full 15-year term. EPA touts Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program as an “innovative and […]

The post Denver Water proves its Lead Reduction Program is a national model first appeared on EDF Health.

Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities and Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals Denver Water has one of the most successful lead service line (LSL) replacement programs in the country. Since it began the program in 2020, the utility has replaced nearly 14,000 LSLs—prioritizing lines to buildings serving vulnerable populations, such as child-care facilities. Denver Water […]

Lindsay McCormick, Program Manager This month, EDF published an article along with collaborators from Auburn University and Mississippi State University, based on a pilot we conducted in partnership with local organizations[1] to comprehensively test and remediate lead in water at 11 child care facilities in Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi and Ohio. The study found that while […]

The post New Study Highlights Lead in Water at Child Care Facilities and Holes in Current EPA Rule first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, Program Manager and Richard Denison, Ph.D., Lead Senior Scientist When Congress reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016, it authorized EPA to require companies to pay fees to help defray the agency’s costs of administering this extensive new law.  EPA finalized the first “fee rule” in 2018 to establish the payment […]

The post At all costs: Failings of Trump EPA’s proposed TSCA fee rule first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, Program Manager In September, Chicago took an important – albeit modest – step towards tackling its colossal number of lead service lines (LSLs) – the lead pipes providing drinking water from the main under the street to homes. With an estimated 389,900 LSLs, Chicago has more than two times as many LSLs as […]

The post In major step, Chicago announces lead pipe replacement plan – but could it widen the equity gap? first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, Program Manager, and Tom Neltner, J.D., Chemicals Policy Director  See all blogs in our LCR series. Update: On February 5, 2020, we submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposal.  Through its proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), EPA made the […]

The post Promising proposal for addressing lead in schools and licensed child care – but gaps remain first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, is a Program Manager. Tom Neltner, J.D., is the Chemicals Policy Director. Update (12/18/19): EPA approved Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program on December 16, 2019. The utility will start implementing the program in 2020.  Yesterday, Denver Water’s board approved its proposed “Lead Reduction Program Plan” to fully replace the estimated 75,000 lead service lines (LSLs) in […]

The post Denver Water proposes innovative plan to remove an estimated 75,000 lead service lines in 15 years first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick is a Program Manager. When I first started working at EDF in 2014, I learned a statistic that shocked me: We have human exposure data on less than 4% of the roughly half-million chemicals in commerce.[1] In other words, we know next to nothing about the vast majority of chemical exposures that people […]

The post Why do we know so little about chemical exposures? Emerging technology could disrupt the status quo. first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, Project Manager, and Joanna Slaney, Legislative Director [pullquote] Over 11,000 concerned Americans have sent messages to Members of Congress over the last two weeks to urge EPA and OMB to protect workers – the population at most risk – from methylene chloride in paint strippers. [/pullquote]Today, EDF met with the White House Office […]

The post EDF to OMB: Ban on methylene chloride in paint strippers must protect workers in addition to consumers first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Tom Neltner, J.D., is the Chemicals Policy Director. Earlier this month, EPA released its updated 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Toolkit, which provides guidance for schools and child care facilities seeking to ensure children are safe from lead in water.  The new 3Ts – an update to the agency’s […]

The post EPA Updates its 3Ts Guidance for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Tom Neltner, J.D., is the Chemicals Policy Director. Developing inventories to document and share what water utilities know – and do not know – about lead service lines (LSLs) with the public is a difficult, but critical, step in creating an effective LSL replacement program. States can play an […]

The post Mapping state-level lead service line information: Indiana as a model first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Tom Neltner, J.D., is the Chemicals Policy Director. Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that will better protect children in the state from the harmful effects of lead exposure. AB 2370, sponsored by Assembly Member Chris Holden and passed unanimously by state lawmakers, sets forth new requirements for licensed child […]

The post California becomes eighth state to require licensed child care centers to test and remediate lead in water first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Yesterday, EDF filed comments on several draft EPA documents that are part of the basis for developing restrictions EPA is required to impose on five persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals under the 2016 reforms made to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  […]

Lindsay McCormick, Project Manager. Last week, EDF submitted comments to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on the state’s proposed rules for lead in water testing at licensed child care facilities. Our comments focused on what we learned from our pilot in 11 child care facilities, including 4 in the Chicago area. Even at very low levels, […]

Lindsay McCormick, Project Manager, Sam Lovell, Project Specialist and Tom Neltner, J.D., Chemicals Policy Director Recent crises around lead in drinking water have focused national attention on the harmful effects of children’s exposure to lead. While the particular vulnerability of children to lead is well understood by most – what might be surprising is that the majority of […]

Lindsay McCormick, Project Manager, and Tom Neltner, J.D., Chemicals Policy Director. When choosing a child care facility, parents weigh numerous factors – like cost, distance to their home, comfort with the staff – with the goal of providing safe care to their child. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to know if the facility where the child care […]

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Last October, a groundbreaking report concluded that diseases caused by pollution were responsible for 1 in 6 premature deaths in 2015 worldwide.  That’s 9 million deaths caused by environmental pollution – three times more than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. That may seem startling at first, but health outcomes are largely […]

Lindsay McCormick, is a Project Manager. Last week, EDF filed detailed comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the approaches it has presented for identifying potential candidates for prioritization under TSCA. EDF believes the purpose of prioritization is to provide an orderly, transparent process for EPA to use in working its way through the huge backlog […]

Lindsay McCormick, Project Manager and Tom Neltner, J.D., Chemicals Policy Director EDF recently submitted comments to the Oregon Department of Education’s Early Learning Division regarding the state’s proposed rules for lead testing for water in licensed and regulated child care centers. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure: even very low blood lead levels can impair normal brain […]