What’s New Earlier this week EDF submitted comments that urged EPA to finalize the strongest possible improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCRI). An estimated 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) are still connected to homes and buildings throughout the country. EPA’s proposal is a critical step to protect Americans from the harmful of […]

The post Lead Pipes: EDF comments on EPA’s proposed Lead & Copper Rule Improvements first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s New? EPA has proposed improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) to reduce lead in drinking water. The proposed rule would require utilities to eliminate the nation’s roughly 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) at an estimated cost of $2.1 to $2.9 billion per year.1 The socioeconomic benefits from the rule vastly outweigh […]

The post Eliminating lead service lines yields huge benefits for reducing premature cardiovascular deaths first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s Happening? The North Carolina Departments of Health & Human Services and Agriculture & Consumer Services identified WanaBana cinnamon applesauce pouches as a source for elevated blood lead levels in multiple children. They found extraordinarily high concentrations of lead (1,900- 5,100 ppb) in the products, leading to the identification of at least 34 cases of […]

The post Unleaded Food: FDA acts quickly on contaminated applesauce first appeared on EDF Health.

What’s New? For the first time, FDA has provided guidance on how to evaluate whether metal cookware is prohibited due to lead leaching into food. As part of an investigation to find the source of elevated blood lead levels in some refugee children, the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington [1] encountered high […]

The post FDA says “Cookware that exhibits any level of leachable lead upon testing is prohibited.” first appeared on EDF Health.

By Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative, Environmental Defense Fund and Charlotte Brody, National Director, Healthy Babies Bright Futures Key Message The scientific consensus is that there is no known safe level of lead exposure, and that no environment or home is truly free of lead. With a few exceptions, we think it is […]

The post Is it time to rethink “lead-safe” and “lead-free”? first appeared on EDF Health.

Deep Dive: Read our Deep Dives blog for an in-depth analysis on the data that drove the 2023 allocation of federal funding for lead service line replacements. What’s New: EPA recently estimated there are 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) in the nation’s drinking water infrastructure based on information reported by states and water utilities. This […]

The post Flaws found in EPA’s lead pipe survey of states and water utilities first appeared on EDF Health.

Note: This blog has been updated and adapted. For the most up-to-date information, please visit our new page, Top 10 Cities with the Most Lead Pipes.   Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities and Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative EDF identified 10 cities in the U.S. with the most lead service lines (LSLs) based […]

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Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative, and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities What Happened: The Ohio Department of Health published an interactive map showing almost 1,200 properties whose owners have refused to comply with an order to correct known lead-based paint hazards. As a result, the Department has declared these properties are unsafe to […]

The post Mapping Lead: Ohio issues map of properties with known lead hazards first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities What Happened: The State of New Jersey published an interactive map showing potential sources of lead exposure for any given address in the state. Currently, the map specifically looks at lead-based paint in housing, though the State has plans to expand this […]

The post Mapping Lead: New Jersey State map as a backbone for real progress on lead first appeared on EDF Health.

Lindsay McCormick, Senior Manager, Safer Chemicals, Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities What Happened? Earlier this month, EPA announced an updated formula it will use to allocate federal funds for lead service line (LSL) replacements. This new formula will be based on each state’s expected needs, as determined by a […]

The post Lead Pipe Replacement: EPA changes state shares of funding first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities What Happened: The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) published notices on January 18 and January 30 indicating that Providence Water would need to stop partial replacement of lead service lines (LSLs) when the work is funded by the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. […]

The post Rhode Island expects LSL replacements to be ‘simultaneous and complete’ when funded by SRF 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 Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative We have all come to expect access to information at our fingertips. To meet this demand, water utilities are increasingly posting interactive maps online to help residents identify whether their homes are connected to lead service lines (LSLs).[1] These are the pipes […]

The post Mapping Lead: Powerful tool helps communities find underground hazards first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals What’s New: EPA announced it has awarded $1.16 billion to the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs in 21 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories to support lead service line (LSL) replacement projects. In order to secure funding, these states developed and submitted Intended Use Plans (IUPs), which […]

The post EPA greenlights 21 states’ SRF plans to fund LSL replacement projects first appeared on EDF Health.

Guest post from Mason Hines, Mediator with RESOLVE and Facilitator for the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative.  See the original post here. For over six years, RESOLVE has convened the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative, a joint effort of 28 national public health, water utility, environmental, labor, consumer, housing, and state and local governmental organizations to […]

The post The LSLR Collaborative’s new guide helps communities design equitable lead service line replacement programs first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative What Happened: On November 2, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held a meeting of more than 50 stakeholders interested in new strategies to fund and finance lead service line (LSL) replacements. I attended, representing the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative. Why It Matters: The meeting was an […]

The post Leveraging LSL replacement funding: Chicago Fed steps up first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals Initiative and Roya Alkafaji, Manager, Healthy Communities Last year, the White House set a goal of eliminating lead service lines (LSLs) by 2032 and worked with Congress to enact the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—which included critical resources to help meet this […]

The post EPA should ensure federal funds do not support harmful partial LSL replacements first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals This is the sixth in our Unleaded Juice blog series exploring how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets limits for toxic elements like lead, arsenic, and cadmium in food and the implications for the agency’s Closer To Zero program.  A core tenet of FDA’s Closer to Zero program […]

The post Unleaded Juice: FDA’s challenge of continuous improvement and compliance assurance first appeared on EDF Health.

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals  This is the fifth in our Unleaded Juice blog series exploring how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets limits for toxic elements like lead, arsenic, and cadmium in food and its implications for the agency’s Closer To Zero program.  FDA’s approach to setting draft action levels for lead […]

The post Unleaded Juice: FDA needs to start with public health—not market impact 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 […]

The post Successful Denver Water Lead Reduction Program seeks 12-Year extension first appeared on EDF Health.