EPA Launches Nationwide Series of Community Lead Awareness Sessions
WASHINGTON – As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to protect communities from childhood lead exposure and advance environmental justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a series of free educational sessions on the dangers of lead and ways to reduce and prevent lead exposure. These sessions are based on the Lead Awareness Curriculum, an adaptable resource to protect communities from potential lead exposure, and will be held in English and Spanish.
“We know that children living below the poverty level or in older housing are at a higher risk of exposure to lead,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “We’re proud to partner with communities that face elevated risks from lead exposure to create healthier homes for children to thrive.”
Throughout 2023, EPA will host educational sessions in several communities that are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, reflecting the agency’s commitment to promoting environmental justice in parts of the country disproportionately impacted by lead, as described in the Agency-wide Lead Strategy released in November 2022. The initiative also supports the Lead Strategy’s commitment to using various methods — including the development of new and improved outreach materials — to reduce lead exposure and educate communities on the risks of lead exposure.
EPA will work with community partners to host two types of community lead awareness sessions:
- “Understanding Lead” sessions for community members: EPA invites members of the general public to learn about lead, its impacts, actions to reduce and prevent lead exposure and the importance of testing children’s blood lead levels. Parents, grandparents, community leaders, Tribal leaders, child care workers, healthcare providers, youth (ages 12 and up) and anyone else interested in learning more about lead are invited to attend.
- “Train-the-Trainer” sessions for community leaders: These sessions equip community leaders — with or without prior knowledge about lead — to educate their communities about lead and preventing lead exposure using the Lead Awareness Curriculum.
In early 2023, EPA began piloting the series with sessions in Tribal communities, an EPA Superfund site and other disadvantaged communities. Today, EPA is launching the series with “Understanding Lead” and “Train-the-Trainer" sessions in Washington, D.C., with several more sessions scheduled in multiple communities across the U.S. A full list of upcoming sessions, including instructions for registering, are available on EPA’s website.
The sessions will supplement EPA’s local lead training and outreach initiative, which has been implemented in 22 communities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico in 2021 and 2022. Through its training and outreach initiative in 2021 and 2022, EPA helped 512 contractors obtain lead-safe certification and educated 871 participants nationwide about lead and how to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities from lead exposure.
Learn more about EPA’s upcoming community lead awareness sessions.