U.S. undercuts clean-air rule

Chicago Tribune by Michael Hawthorne | Nov. 14, 2008 (Investigative Report)

Under a White House change, fewer companies will be monitored for lead emissions

Looking to bolster the fight against childhood lead poisoning, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month approved a tough new rule aimed at clearing the nation's air of the toxic metal.

A key part of the initiative is a new network of monitors that will track lead emissions from factories. But the Bush administration quietly weakened that provision at the last minute by exempting dozens of polluters from scrutiny, federal documents show. Full Story »

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by Denise Clendening - Nov. 14, 2008

Interesting and informative article discussing one recent EPA rule change. The article would have been better if links were provided to the court order and/or EPA website on the rule change. More context would have been provided if the amount of money spent by the lobbyists to fight the rule was compared to the estimated cost to reduce lead emissions. I am not familiar with the communities discussed in the article and information if these are minority communities would have provided more context.

The science is fairly conclusive that there are no safe levels of exposure for children to lead and children that are exposed are frequently in low income areas.

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