Lead: a case study in interagency policy-making.

Exposures to low levels of lead in the environment are believed to have potentially significant health effects, especially in children; such exposures to the general population come from many sources. Responsibility for regulating lead exposures has been derived from a multitude of laws passed by the Congress, and thus ultimate protection of people depends on actions taken by several agencies of the federal government. For this reason, the history of efforts to reduce exposures to lead is an excellent case study in the way that federal agencies do or do not work well together. The issue of reduction of lead in gasoline is discussed in relation to the evidence generated by HUD concerning the relationship of blood lead in urban children in New York City to seasonal variations in consumption of leaded gasoline in that area. Some recommendations for developing interagency cooperation in such controversies are presented.