Get the lead out

Reduced colorectal cancer isn t the only good news reported by the CDC: The latest survey of the CDC s Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program shows continued declines in the average blood lead levels (BLLs) among U.S. adults. The data were collected from 40 states and demonstrate that BLLs greater than 25 micrograms per deciliter decreased by nearly 60 percent from 2004 to 2009. Approximately 95 percent of the elevated BLLs reported among adults were work-related exposures, particularly from battery manufacturing, smelting of non-lead-containing metals, painting, and paper hanging.

ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom notes, This goes to show that even though the EPA has, in recent years, devoted its resources to worrying about nonsense like trace levels of chemicals that have been used for decades, there was a time when they actually did some measurable good, such as banning lead from gasoline. The continuing decline in lead levels is a prime example.