The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition calling for a ban on the manufacture, use and processing of lead in fishing gear. The announcement dated November 4, 2010 followed the EPA’s announcement in August that it had denied a petition calling for a ban on the manufacture and distribution of lead ammunition used for hunting. The petitioners had argued that lead poisoning from ammunition and fishing sinkers presented an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment.

In a letter to the petitioners, EPA indicated that the petitioners had not demonstrated that the requested rule is necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA also pointed out that the use of non-lead alternatives in the marketplace continues to increase.

Additional Information

Click here to read the entire EPA press release.

Click here to view the EPA letter and find links to related information.

Related Information in the EHS Journal

U.S. EPA Denies Petition to Regulate Lead Ammunition, Continues to Review Lead Sinkersby Steven Taber.

About the Author

Michael Bittner, CPEA, is an associate partner in the Boston, U.S.A. office of Environmental Resources Management and editor of the EHS Journal. He has more than 20 years of experience in the EHS field, including 17 years of EHS consulting experience and four years as the corporate environmental manager for a U.S. Department of Defense contractor. Mr. Bittner specializes in global EHS solutions including

• Compliance and management systems auditing.
• EHS management systems implementation and design.
• Sustainability solutions.
• Mergers and acquisitions support.

He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Auditing Roundtable.

Photograph: Coconut & Beach 2 by Piotr Bizior, Chicago, United States. For more photographs see www.bizior.com.

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