EPA Releases New Guidance to Reduce Lead Exposure in Drinking Water, Protect American Children

Today, EPA released guidance to help drinking water systems that are working to keep their communities safe from lead.

View as a webpage / Share News Release EPA Releases New Guidance to Reduce Lead Exposure in Drinking Water, Protect American Children August 21, 2026 | Contact EPA's Press Office (press@epa.gov) WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released guidance to help drinking water systems that are working to keep their communities safe from lead. This guidance advances the agency’s commitment to clear and plain language communication while sharing information, definitions, and useful examples to help water systems comply with lead pipe replacement requirements of the Lead and Copper Rule. Reducing exposure to lead—a powerful neurotoxin that is especially dangerous to children—advances the Trump EPA’s commitment to Making America Healthy Again. “The agency’s efforts to reduce lead in drinking water started under the first Trump Administration and continue today under Administrator Zeldin’s leadership,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer. “EPA is committed to supporting local water systems as they identify and remove lead pipes. Today, we are providing practical, clear, and plain language guidance clarifying existing federal requirements. This action complements federal funding and technical assistance in a holistic approach.”    EPA is releasing two documents, Access Tips and Service Line Inventory Tips, to provide practical information to help water systems and states implement the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). In April 2026, EPA sought the public’s input on these two Tips documents and EPA considered the comments received in the development of these final resources. EPA is taking on lead in drinking water holistically, including prioritizing collaboration, practical implementation, and communication. The agency recently published a revamped lead website, found at epa.gov/lead, including a new StoryMap about Lead and Children’s Health. The streamlined website allows parents and caregivers, contractors, health care professionals, and other users to quickly find critical information on how to prevent exposures from lead. This is one of many actions being undertaken by EPA under the government-wide Federal Lead Action Plan, which was launched in President Trump’s first term as a blueprint for reducing lead exposure through collaboration among federal agencies.   Releasing this new resource is yet another example of the Trump EPA working to ensure that all Americans can rely on clean and safe drinking water. They complement the agency’s robust technical assistance effort – Real Water TA. Real Water TA focuses on hands on assistance for communities and water systems working to address water infrastructure challenges or funding needs. EPA also supports state and local efforts to upgrade and maintain water infrastructure with funding opportunities. This year, EPA announced nearly $3 billion in funding for lead pipe identification and removal.  Background There is no safe level of lead. Lead pipes, when present, are the primary source of lead in drinking water. EPA is committed to using every tool available to protect all Americans from lead in drinking water. The 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) builds on the strong foundation of the first Trump Administration’s 2021 Lead and Copper Rule Revisions to achieve this goal. First promulgated in 1991, the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) regulates lead and copper in public drinking water systems.   Read the press release Learn more about Children's Health and Healthy School Environments.

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EPA Seeks Comments on Nominations to FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel

EPA is seeking public comments on experts nominated to serve on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory

View as a webpage / Share Pesticide Update EPA Seeks Comments on Nominations to FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comments on experts nominated to serve on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP). The FIFRA SAP provides independent scientific advice, information, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide related issues. Independent peer review helps ensure pesticide registration decisions are based on sound, unbiased science. Taking public input on potential committee reviewers remains vital to forming a balanced and robust peer review panel. This practice ensures the agency benefits from a wide array of scientific viewpoints and real-world perspectives, supporting review processes that are fair, rigorous, and reflective of the best available science. The FIFRA SAP is composed of a permanent panel of seven scientists appointed by the EPA Administrator to serve staggered terms of three to six years. These experts are appointed from a pool of candidates provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). In April 2026, EPA requested nominations from NIH and NSF to fill vacancies on the FIFRA SAP due to expiring terms. Specifically, EPA requested nationally recognized experts with expertise in ecological and human exposure assessment, including environmental fate and transport of chemicals, and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), including in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE). Experts with specific experience in risk assessment, dose-response analysis, cheminformatics, bioinformatics, and genomics are preferred. NIH and NSF provided the agency with a total of 28 nominees, of which, 16 are interested and available to actively participate in FIFRA SAP meetings. Consistent with this Administration’s commitment to transparency, biographies of the interested and available candidates will be available in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2026-5679, and through the FIFRA SAP website. Public comments on these experts will be used to assist the agency in appointing two new FIFRA SAP members to fill vacancies by October 2026. All comments must be submitted to the docket within 21 days from the publication of the Federal Register Notice. Prospective candidates for membership on the FIFRA SAP are asked to submit confidential financial information, and fully disclose, among other financial interests, the candidate's employment, stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. EPA will evaluate the nominees’ financial disclosure forms to assess whether there are financial conflicts of interest or the appearance of a loss of impartiality. EPA will also review any prior involvement with the development of documents likely to be under consideration by the FIFRA SAP (including previous scientific peer reviews) before a nominee is considered for appointment. EPA will consider public comments on the FIFRA SAP membership candidates and will then release a list of selected candidates after conducting ethics reviews and reviewing technical expertise and public feedback.   For additional information, please see the FIFRA SAP website, or contact Tamue L. Gibson, Designated Federal Officer, at gibson.tamue@epa.gov or 202-564-7642. Learn more about Children's Health and Healthy School Environments.

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EPA Seeks Nominations for Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee; Agency Reestablishes Committee to Strengthen Stakeholder Input

EPA Seeks Nominations for Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee; Agency Reestablishes Committee to Strengthen Stakeholder Input

View as a webpage / Share Pesticide Update EPA Seeks Nominations for Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee; Agency Reestablishes Committee to Strengthen Stakeholder Input The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting nominations for the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC), a federal advisory committee that advises the EPA Administrator on pesticide policy, science, and program implementation, with a focus on evaluating and reducing the real-world risks that pesticides pose to human health and the environment. Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), EPA is reestablishing the PPDC for a two-year term and scheduling its next meeting. EPA is committed to a committee that is genuinely balanced. Every nominee will be reviewed for conflicts of interest, and EPA will apply FACA's fair-balance requirement so that no single interest dominates the conversation. The work of this committee may focus on questions families are asking like: cumulative and combined exposures, effects on children's development, and how the agency can make its review process more transparent and better communicate the science‑based decisions that protect human health and the environment while supporting a fair and effective pesticide program. EPA is seeking qualified nominees to serve two‑year terms. Consistent with the PPDC charter, nominees will be selected to represent a broad range of perspectives, including: Pesticide industry and trade associations Pesticide users, growers, and commodity groups Federal, state, local, and tribal governments Academia Animal welfare and public health organizations Environmental and public interest organizations Farmworker organizations The general public EPA especially encourages nominations from public-health, children's-health, farmworker, and community organizations to ensure these perspectives are strongly represented. Instructions for submitting nominations will be provided in the Federal Register notice. Upon publication in the Federal Register notice, nominations will be accepted until September 16, 2026. Vacancies are expected to be filled by November 2026. Learn more about Children's Health and Healthy School Environments.

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EPA Releases Draft TSCA Risk Evaluations for Two Chemicals Found in Household and Commercial Products

EPA Releases Draft TSCA Risk Evaluations for Two Chemicals Found in Household and Commercial Products

View as a webpage / Share News Release EPA Releases Draft TSCA Risk Evaluations for Two Chemicals Found in Household and Commercial Products August 6, 2026 | Contact EPA's Press Office (press@epa.gov) WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is advancing its review of o-dichlorobenzene (oDCB) and p-dichlorobenzene (pDCB) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) by releasing draft risk evaluations for public comment. Both chemicals are found in products used in homes and workplaces and can evaporate into the air. For pDCB, which is used in some air care and deodorizing products, indoor air can be a key exposure route for people who use those products. Evaluating each chemical across its conditions of use and exposure pathways is how EPA determines where new protections may be needed and where existing safeguards are sufficient. EPA applied systematic review and weighed the reasonably available, peer-reviewed science alongside information submitted to the Agency. The complete draft evaluations, technical support documents, and underlying data will be available in the public dockets and on EPA's website. The draft evaluations preliminarily found: oDCB contributes to unreasonable risk to workers from 14 conditions of use (inhalation, with dermal exposure from seven) and to consumers from one condition of use through inhalation. Non-cancer hazards evaluated include developmental, liver, and respiratory toxicity. pDCB contributes to unreasonable risk to workers from 7 conditions of use through inhalation and dermal exposure, and to consumers via inhalation from air care products. Non-cancer hazards evaluated include developmental, liver, and respiratory toxicity. For both chemicals, the draft preliminarily risk evaluations found no unreasonable risk to the general population through ambient outdoor air, including fenceline communities, or to the environment. This is separate from the consumer-use exposures above, where the drafts do identify some conditions of use as contributing to unreasonable risk. Consistent with TSCA, EPA considered potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations, including workers and groups that may be more susceptible, in characterizing risk. EPA's draft worker risk estimates do not assume the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as the basis for the risk determination; the drafts separately discuss how PPE and other controls could reduce exposure. EPA welcomes comments and data on the occupational and consumer exposure scenarios, on potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations, and on additional health endpoints. For pDCB, EPA's draft determination is that it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, based on a non-mutagenic, threshold-dependent mode of action for the liver tumors observed in animals. EPA recognizes that IARC and the National Toxicology Program have classified pDCB differently and specifically invites comments and data on this evaluation. These are draft findings, and EPA wants feedback. The 60-day comment period is how EPA hears from independent experts, workers, communities, and the public before finalizing the risk evaluations. All current protections and product label directions remain in place while EPA completes these reviews; releasing draft evaluations does not alter any existing safeguard. If EPA continues to find unreasonable risk, it will propose risk-management actions under TSCA section 6(a) to address those exposures. EPA is working toward the February 12, 2027, consent-decree deadline for the final evaluations. Upon publication of the Federal Register notice, EPA will accept comments for 60 days at regulations.gov: oDCB via EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0444 and pDCB via EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0446. Read the Press Release Learn more about Children's Health and Healthy School Environments.

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