Coalition of Battery Recyclers Association v. Environmental Protection Agency

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (defendant) revised the 1978 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for airborne lead concentration from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) to 0.15 μg/m3 and changed from a static average to a three-month rolling average to better show the momentum of any concentration changes. The 1978 standard focused on blood-lead concentration because it was not scientifically understood then that even low levels of lead caused neurocognitive damage in children. To determine the new standard, the EPA prepared the requisite Criteria Document analyzing all available scientific information on the detrimental health effects of airborne lead. Approximately 6,000 studies found that zero lead was the only harmless blood-lead concentration level for children. The EPA also considered the aggregate results of studies conducted on diverse groups of children under five who had been exposed to varying levels of lead. Based on the evidence, the EPA found a strong link between lead exposure in children and IQ loss. The greatest incremental IQ losses occurred at low blood-lead concentration levels. The EPA’s revised lead NAAQS limit was therefore set to keep the population-level IQ point loss under two points. The Coalition of Battery Recyclers Association (Coalition) (plaintiff) challenged the standard, arguing (1) it was overprotective; (2) there was no evidence to support basing the new NAAQS standard on IQ loss in children; (3) IQ measurements were imprecise; and (4) the 0.15 μg/m3 limit should have been annual.