The current US EPA action level for lead is 15ppb, which is fifty percent higher than The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended cutoff level of 10ppb. Some countries like Canada, have reduced cut off levels to 5ppb. The EPA, along with several individual states, have recently created pending legislation to bring the US action level down to 10ppb. In the US, ePIPE is providing input to research facilities and engineers working in conjunction with proposed changes to the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule.
Testing for lead at schools is mandatory in the state of New York, and is currently pending legislation in many other states. In 2016, LeadSmart Certified Installers completed works on over 40 school buildings in the US that were leaching lead and copper into water, reducing the lead levels in the drinking water to below the EPA cutoff levels, making them LeadSmart compliant.