This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dramatically strengthened the national standards for airborne lead particles by slashing the maximum allowable concentration to a tenth of the previous standard set in 1978. On the advice of government science advisers, the new standard was set at 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is ten times lower than the previous standard.

For the last few decades, government agencies have been trying to reduce lead exposure in people by removing lead from gasoline, reducing factory emissions, removing lead-based paint from older homes, and other public health interventions.

Lead exposure is a particular problem among children. Those exposed to lead at an early age may develop brain and nervous system damage, have behavior and learning problems, and experience other health problems. Typically, children become exposed to lead by breathing or swallowing lead dust or particles, or by eating contaminated soil or paint chips. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 310,000 American children between 1 and 5 years old have blood lead levels that exceed the public health action standard.

Parents should survey their children’s environment and identify and remove any sources of lead. Methods for minimizing childhood lead exposure include regularly washing of children's hands and toys, reducing indoor dust accumulation, and minimizing their exposure to soil.

For more ideas for lead prevention, join Healia’s Health Community for Lead Poisoning.

_{Photo: Library of Congress, public domain}

Despite recent laws limiting tobacco smoke exposure, millions of people are still exposed to polluted air from smokers in the workplace, public places, or in their home. One way we can be environmentally friendly and health conscious on this Earth Day is to keep our air clean and free of secondhand smoke.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in adults who do not smoke. They estimate that exposure to secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year in nonsmokers.

• Increase in the number of asthma attacks in children.
• Increase in the severity of asthma symptoms in children.
• Increase in the risk of heart disease.
• Increase in respiratory tract infections in children under 18 months of age.