EPA Prepares to Update Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead
News & Events
August 10, 2022
US EPA has announced plans to update the Integrated Science Assessment for Lead in early 2023.
Topics:
Lead, Air Quality, Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
NEWS ALERT
EPA Prepares to Update Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead
US EPA has announced plans to update the Integrated Science Assessment for Lead in early 2023. This assessment will provide the foundation for US EPA’s review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead.
US EPA (EPA) recently completed a series of webinars in which its expert panelists discussed preliminary draft materials that will inform the development of an updated Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Lead (Pb). The webinar series, in part, marks the initiation of the process to update the Pb ISA, a draft of which is expected in early 2023.
Background
Every 5 years, EPA is required to review the available science and data in order to determine whether it should maintain or revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria air pollutants, including lead. As part of this process, EPA may generate or update ISAs, in which the Agency assesses causal relationships between the criteria air pollutants and health effects by reviewing the published literature on these pollutants.
In 2008, the Pb NAAQS was set at 0.15 μg/m3 Pb in total suspended particles (TSP). In 2016, EPA determined that the NAAQS should be retained based on a review of the available scientific literature at that time. Specifically, EPA determined that new information did not reduce data gaps or uncertainties in various subject areas (e.g., the air-blood Pb relationship at low Pb levels, sources of Pb contributing to population blood Pb levels, and the relationship between blood Pb levels and neurocognitive function) since the prior assessment and, as such, the NAAQS should be retained.
Today, Developing the Updated Pb ISA
EPA’s plans to update the Pb ISA mark the first time this process has been revisited since the 2016 decision. The forthcoming ISA will include subject areas such as exposure assessment, epidemiology and toxicology, exposure sources, and fate and transport. Gradient is knowledgeable in these subject areas and relevant scientific literature that has been published since the last review cycle.
If you have any questions about the process of developing the updated Pb ISA or its implications, please visit our website or contact:
