EPA tightens health standard for airborne lead Three decades after removing lead from gasoline, the Environmental Protection Agency is slashing the amount of the toxic metal that will be allowed in the nation's air by 90 percent. EPA officials, under a federal court order to set a new standard by midnight Wednesday, said the limit would better protect public health, especially for children. They can inhale lead particles released from smelters, mines and waste incinerators and ingest it after it settles on surfaces. The new limit, 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter, is the first update since 1978, when the government helped phase out leaded gasoline. It is 10 times lower than the old standard, 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter. The EPA estimates that 18 counties in a dozen states will violate the new standard. That means state and local governments must find ways to further reduce lead emissions....