The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced the finalization of a rule that declares any detectable amount of the toxin in a home or child care center to be hazardous.

The federal government banned the use of lead-based paint in residences in 1978, but it is estimated that 31 million houses built before the ban still contain lead-based paint. Of those houses, 3.8 million have one or more children under of the age of six living there.

Lead exposure, even at a low level, can cause serious developmental delays and other lifelong effects on children, such as hearing and speech challenges.

The Biden administration is imposing strict new limits on dust from lead-based paint in older homes and child-care facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday finalized stronger standards for identifying and cleaning up lead paint dust in pre-1978 U.S. homes and child care facilities.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced the finalized version of a federal rule tightening standards for exposure to lead paint dust. The rule, which finalizes a proposal issued last June, will tighten the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) hazard level for lead dust to the point that any amount detected in a building would be