top of page
Search

History of Tightening Action Levels for Lead






The latest significant reduction started when CDC lowered its levels of concern from 10 mcg/dl to 5 mc/dl. As of October 28, 2021, CDC uses a blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with blood lead levels that are higher than most children’s levels. This represents a 65 percent reduction within a decade. This trend in science is important to the court’s understanding of the issue of lead contamination.


The FDA has based its most recent 2023 interim reference level (IRL) for lead based on the CDC’s ever-tightening screening methods for lead-poisoned children, ages one to five.


The FDA IRL is far more strict than the safe harbor of 0.5 mcg/day in the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. That is because the IRL of 2.2 mcg/day is all-encompassing and based on the amount of lead that should not be exceeded for all exposures. 


EPA’s estimated dietary exposures to lead in micrograms per day (µg/day)

“The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65), Health & Saf. Code, § 25249.5 et seq., is concerned only with the blood lead level that results from the isolated exposure caused by a particular business. It does not consider background levels of lead from other sources.” (Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (2018) 24 Cal.App.5th 220, 220 [234 Cal.Rptr.3d 198].) (emphasis added). The state’s safe harbor value of 0.5 mcg/day is for one food product at one meal and doesn’t account for all other potential exposures.


Comments


bottom of page