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The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint dust in homes and child care facilities built before 1978, an effort to eliminate exposure to lead that could require millions of property owners to pay for abatement. Lead is a neurotoxin and exposure can damage the brain and nervous system, particularly in babies and small children. (Davenport, 7/12)

Declaring that “there is no safe level of lead,” the administration estimates that the proposed rule would reduce lead exposure for approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under the age of six each year. That’s important because health scientists have said for some time there is no safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Lead’s damage to the brain is well known: It takes points off IQ, deprives kids of problem-solving abilities, and can make it harder to learn to read. But it also affects other organs, including the liver and kidneys. (Lobet and Stobbe, 7/12)

The stronger proposal follows a 2021 decision by a federal appeals court after the EPA was sued by public health and environmental groups over its old standard. Biden administration officials reiterated that this proposed rule was part of their larger agenda to get lead out of the nation’s housing and school stock. (Nilsen, 7/12)

At a gathering of telecom officials more than a decade ago, John Malone, a senior AT&T manager, cautioned the group about a little-known danger crisscrossing the nation. (Ramachandran, Gryta, Jones, Pulliam and West, 7/12)