California to Update MADL for Lead

In response to a petition for administrative rulemaking filed by the
Center for Environmental Health, the California Environmental
Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA) has announced its intention to update the existing maximum
allowable dose level (MADL) for lead. The agency will post a notice for
hearing on the petition on October 9, 2015, in Sacramento.

In particular, the petition claims that the current MADL for lead—0.5
micrograms per day—“is too high to protect Californians from the
well-established reproductive effects of lead that do and can occur at
levels below 500 micrograms per day.” Faulting the courts for allowing
defendants in enforcement actions “to average lead exposures over time,”
CEH also alleges that the existing regulation “has been interpreted to
allow lead exposures of up to 7 micrograms a day.” Based on the evidence
provided in its petition, the organization has asked OEHHA to repeal or
amend existing regulations “to establish a level that is protective of public
health and compliant with Proposition 65.”

Issue 574