The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented its historic National Lead Strategy at a ceremony in Omaha to renew a cooperative agreement with the Douglas County Health Department.
At a large lead smelter and lead battery recycling plant once located in Omaha, more than 400 million pounds of lead particles were released into the environment, much of that ending up in residential areas, according to an Oct. 28 news release.
“The release of EPA’s National Lead Strategy’s during National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is more than a symbolic gesture. It is a reflection of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to substantially reducing childhood lead exposure,” Carlton Waterhouse, deputy assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management, said in the release.
Waterhouse noted the goal is not only to reduce lead exposure in children, but to "eliminate the historic racial and socioeconomic disparities in blood lead levels and promote environmental justice with actions that will improve the lives of our nation’s residents that live in disproportionately impacted communities,” according to the release.
“Lead exposure is a serious and preventable cause of cognitive harm to many children, and this collaborative agreement with our federal partners means that we can build upon the great work that has already been done in our community and reach even more potentially impacted families, giving every child the best start possible to lead happy and healthy lives,” Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse said in the release.
