EPA issues lead pollution list

The areas -- located in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas, Missouri and California -- were designated as "non-attainment" because their 2007 to 2009 air quality monitoring data showed they did not meet the agency's health-based standards, an EPA release said.

Areas designated as not meeting the standard must develop and implement plans to reduce pollution to meet the lead standards by Dec. 31, 2015, the EPA said.

National average concentrations of lead in the air have dropped almost 92 percent nationwide since 1980, largely the result of the phase-out of lead in gasoline, the agency said.

Lead emitted into the air can be inhaled or can be ingested after it settles the primary route of human exposure. Children are most susceptible to lead-related health problems because they are more likely to ingest lead and their bodies are developing rapidly, the EPA says.

There is no known safe level of lead in the body.

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