Policy Resources

Note

Some of the documents below refer to a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) as the CDC's blood lead reference value. CDC uses a blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with blood lead levels that are higher than most children's levels. This level is based on the 97.5th percentile of the blood lead values among U.S. children ages 1-5 years from the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles. Children with blood lead levels at or above the BLRV represent the top 2.5% of children with the highest blood lead levels.

Some of the documents on this page are presented for historical purposes and are not being maintained or updated.

Congressional reports

Report to Congress for Fiscal Years 2001-2002

Data sharing and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

• Overcoming Barriers to Data-Sharing Related to the HIPAA Privacy Rule: A Guide for State and Local Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs This guide reviews HIPAA requirements and exceptions, focusing on those for public health agencies, and describes permissible uses of lead-related data under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
• HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health: Guidance from CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • View a copy of the joint letter by EPA and CDC regarding the confidentiality of childhood lead poisoning data.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes
  • View a copy of the joint letter by HUD and CDC regarding the confidentiality of childhood lead poisoning data.

Federal laws

• EPA's Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program Rule (RRP)- This webpage lists the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements and lists information for state officials, property owners, families, and contractors pertaining to the RRP rule.
• EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule- This document summarizes EPA's new Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program rule.
• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)- This webpage is an online version of the Toxic Substances Control Act. See Subchapter IV for regulations on lead exposure reduction.
• HUD's Lead Safe Housing Rule- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Lead Safe Housing Rule applies to all target housing that is federally owned and applies to target housing receiving federal assistance.
• The Lead Disclosure Rule (Title X, Section 1018)- This law requires the disclosure of known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most housing built before 1978
• Title X Regulations (Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992)
  • Public Law 102-550. Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992
  • Title X, Sections 1012 and 1013. Requirements for the Notification, Evaluation, and Reduction of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Federally Owned Residential Property and Housing Receiving Federal Assistance.
• The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA)- The complete act and section summaries of the CPSIA.
• Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA)- The CPSA provides that when the Consumer Product Safety Commission finds an unreasonable risk of injury associated with a consumer product, it can develop a standard to reduce or eliminate the risk.
• The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act)-The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016 authorized HHS agencies to take actions to support recovery in Flint, Michigan and put infrastructure in place to assist lead poisoning prevention programs.

State laws

Lead Statutes Database - The Lead Statutes Database provides lawmakers and others with an easily searchable tool for assessing state lead poisoning prevention policy trends.1

Lead-safe housing policy

Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) - This 2007 report examines how the LIHTC program has addressed childhood lead poisoning associated with lead-based paint hazards in old housing that is undergoing rehabilitation. It describes additional measures that should be taken to ensure that program advances the goal of eliminating the disease by 2010 and does not inadvertently create lead-based paint hazards in the housing units it rehabilitates, therefore protecting the future viability of the program.

Policy statements

American Academy of Pediatrics

Prevention of Childhood Lead Toxicity - Source: Pediatrics 138(1): e20161493 (2016)

Lead Policy Statements

Update of the Blood Lead Reference Value — United States, 2021 – CDC updated the blood lead reference value (BLRV) to 3.5 μg/dL in response to the Lead Exposure Prevention and Advisory Committee (LEPAC) recommendation made on May 14, 2021.

Note: CDC uses a blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with blood lead levels that are higher than most children's levels. This level is based on the on the 97.5th percentile of the blood lead values among U.S. of children ages 1-5 years from the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles. Children with blood lead levels at or above the BLRV represent those at the top 2.5% with the highest blood lead levels.

The documents below refer to a blood-lead level of 10 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) as the CDC level of concern for adverse health outcomes in children. This terminology is outdated, and readers are referred to the ACCLPP recommendations of 2012.

• Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children (2005) – This is the fifth revision of the statement on Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This revision accompanies a companion document, developed by the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention which reviews the scientific evidence for adverse effects in children at blood lead levels below 10 µg/dL.
• Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children (1991)** – The fourth revision of the statement on Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children by the Centers for Disease Control.
• Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children (1985) ** – The second revision of the statement on Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children (1978) ** – The first revision of the statement on Increased Lead Absorption and Lead Poisoning in Young Children by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Increase Lead Absorption and Lead Poisoning in Young Children (1975) ** – A statement on Lead Poisoning in Young Children by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

** These documents are being kept on this website for historical purposes and are no longer in print.

Tools

• Implementing a Health in All Polices Approach to Lead Poisoning Prevention – July 2021
  • A report summarizing key themes of Health in All Policies (HiAP) strategies to address lead poisoning prevention at the state level.
• Sustainability of Funding Toolkit for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs – June 2021
  • Overview of sources of funding and revenue streams available to state childhood lead poisoning prevention programs and strategies for sustainability planning.
• Stories from the Field Case Studies of Lead and Health in All Policies – September 2019
  • Collection of case studies from three communities who used Health in All Policies to advance their lead poisoning prevention work.
• Health Department Strategies for Implementing Health in All Policies to Reduce and Prevent Lead Exposure – March 2019
  • Factsheet outlines the 7 strategies of Health and all Polices featuring lead poisoning prevention examples at state and local levels.
• Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts – December 2018.
  • Blueprint for reducing lead exposure and associated harms through collaboration among federal agencies with a range of stakeholders.2
• 10 Policies to Prevent and Respond to Childhood Lead Exposure – August 2017
  • Assessment of the risks communities face and key federal, state, and local solutions.3
• Federal Lead-Based Paint Enforcement Bench Book – January 2009
  • The Federal Lead-Based Paint Enforcement Bench Book provides an overview of federal statutes, regulations, and enforcement programs. It covers the Lead Safe Housing Rule, and Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The benchbook also explains how federal enforcement programs operate, and how to promote enforcement through referrals and partnerships4.
• Guidebook for Developing State and Local Lead-Based Enforcement Bench Books – August 2008
  • The Guidebook for Developing State and Local Lead-Based Enforcement Bench Books is a how-to manual to help those who are not lawyers develop state and local lead-based paint enforcement benchbooks for their jurisdictions. Because of diverse state and local laws, no single benchbook would be accurate or relevant for every jurisdiction. Therefore, the guidebook provides background and resource information, advice, and specific "action items" for developing state and local benchbooks. The guidebook also explains how to find codes about housing, property maintenance, health, nuisance abatement, and other topics that may address lead-based paint hazards.4
• Lead-Safe Housing Policy Guidance Series – December 20045
• Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning: A Federal Strategy Targeting Lead Paint Hazards – February 20006

Other resources

• FY20 WIIN Act Drinking Water Grants Infographic – Information about funding available through the EPA's Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) Grant Programs7
• State Health Department Policies for Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels – Each state health department's policies related to interventions for children with lead in their blood, collected through August 2020.8