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Child peeling paint

Lead Exposures

Leadership

Sharunda Buchanan, M.S., Ph.D.

Director, Office of Priority Projects, Innovation, and Environmental Justice 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
Interim Director, Office of Environmental Justice 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Warren Friedman, Ph.D., FAIHA

Senior Advisor
Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Maureen R. Gwinn, Ph.D.

Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator;
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Purpose

The Lead Exposures Subcommittee coordinates the Task Force’s interagency efforts to better understand and prevent childhood exposure to lead and associated disease and disabilities from lead exposures, supporting commitments of the 2018 Federal Lead Action Plan.

There are no safe levels of lead in the blood. Due to significant federal regulatory action. the United States has made tremendous progress in reducing lead exposure, resulting in a 94.5% decline in childhood blood lead levels (BLLs) between 1976-2016. Despite this decline, lead exposure remains a significant health concern for children, causing serious neurological, cognitive, and other effects. The effects of lead poisoning can be permanent. Many communities face a disproportionate risk of childhood lead exposure. National data finds that race and ethnicity, income level, and housing age are significant risk factors for elevated BLLs.

Today, about 3.3 million U.S. families with a child under age 6 live in a home with structures, such as windows. doors, stairs railings, and porches, that contain lead-based paint. Children can be exposed to dangerous levels of lead when this paint chips or flakes off and is breathed in or eaten. Additional exposure sources include water from lead pipes, contaminated soils, and some imported products, such as good, toys, cosmetics, and jewelry. Certain jobs and hobbies may also be sources of childhood exposure. CDC uses a blood lead reference value (reference value) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) for children under age 6 to help identify children with BLLs higher than most children's levels. There are about 500,000 children in the United States with BLLs at or above the reference value.

The goals of this subcommittee include:

  • Recommend to the President’s Task Force coordinated federal strategies to prevent childhood lead exposures and associated harmful effects
  • Disseminate information on lead exposure and its effects to diverse audiences, including policy makers, healthcare providers, the general public and other stakeholders
  • Coordinate and disseminate an inventory of federal actions to reduce childhood lead exposures

Activities

The Lead Exposures Subcommittee is helping to coordinate across federal agencies as they work to implement the goals of the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts.

Accomplishments

2024 Progress Report on the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts

The 2024 Progress Report on the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts is the first published update on advancements made through the plan during 2018-2024 to protect children's health. It includes a list of federal efforts to reduce childhood lead exposures and mitigate related health impacts. The report details actions such as efforts to reduce exposures to lead in paint, dust, drinking waler, soil, food, consumer products, and air pollution. This report describes research to develop a set of models that simulate human exposures to lead from multiple environmental sources and estimate blood lead concentrations at local and national scales. It also describes efforts to improve screening for developmental delays in lead­ exposed children and to increase awareness of lead hazards and actions that can be taken to protect against exposures.

Progress Report on the Federal Lead Action Plan (5MB)

Learn more of our findings in our downloadable report:

2024 Progress Report on the Federal Lead Action Plan (5MB)

Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts

The Federal Lead Action Plan is aimed at reducing lead exposure through collaboration in the federal government and with a range of stakeholders, including states, Tribes, and local communities, along with businesses (for-profit and nonprofit), property owners, and parents. The Action Plan helps the federal government work strategically and collaboratively to reduce exposure to lead and improve children's health.

Federal Action Plan (8MB)

Learn more of our findings in our downloadable report:

Lead Action Plan (8MB)

Key Federal Program to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Eliminate Associated Health Impacts

This report of the President's Task Force catalogs federal efforts to understand, prevent, and reduce various sources of lead exposure among children. The report provides a starting point for a comprehensive federal lead strategy, and will enable increased coordination and collaboration among federal agencies to further protect the nation's children.

Lead Exposures (14MB)

Learn more of our findings in our downloadable report:

Key Federal Programs (14MB)

Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning: A Federal Strategy Targeting Lead Paint Hazards

In 2000, the Task Force released a set of recommendationsaimed at eliminating childhood lead poisoning in the United States. The report focuses primarily on expanding efforts to correct lead paint hazards (especially in low-income housing), a major source of lead exposure for children.

Resources

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