With Biden’s inauguration fast approaching, the threat of lead contamination is probably the last thing on your mind. But at least half a million children in the US under age six have lead poisoning, permanently damaging their health and well-being, and millions more are at risk of lead poisoning at home and school. The Biden administration’s plan to “build back better” post-pandemic must address the failure of the US government to follow the most recent scientific research on the threat of lead and how this longest running epidemic in US history disproportionately affects marginalized communities, especially Black and Indigenous communities.

Where should the Biden administration start? Trump’s EPA purportedly made reducing lead exposure a top priority, but Trump’s policies lacked teeth. In December 2018, the Trump administration unveiled the Federal Lead Action Plan, a “road-map to reduce lead exposure nationwide.” This road-map was faulty and incomplete. The Department of Housing and Urban Development was awarded $28 million for an educational campaign focusing on lead paint, instead of lead dust in soils, now considered the main source of lead contamination. Trump’s EPA simultaneously downgraded enforcement and compliance mechanisms throughout the country, relaxing regulations for polluters. Erik Olson, director of Health and Food for the Natural Resources Defense Council, argued that Trump’s policies were “feel-good promises to ‘consider’ and ‘evaluate’ actions without time frames or commitments…[which] won’t protect children.”

What can Biden do? Biden pledged to make environmental justice a top priority. He promised to ensure safe drinking water for all communities while holding polluters responsible. Despite pledging to double federal funds for drinking water infrastructure improvements in low-income communities, Biden’s plan falls short by only focusing on lead in water.

This is a start, but Biden must commit to policy proposals taking concrete action following science on the threat of lead in soils, dust, and air, in addition to water. Failure to do this, combined with centuries of racism, leaves marginalized communities to bear the brunt of lead pollution.

Scientists now agree that a majority of lead that poisons people comes from leaded gasoline remnants in soil and not paint chips. But most federal research focuses on finding lead-based paint, estimating up to 3.6 million homes with children have contaminated paint, despite new research showing soils are the biggest source of lead in children. This means millions of older at-risk homes that have not yet been identified could be poisoning children. The lead problem extends to roads, the parks children play in, and even household dust. The incoming administration must examine not only the water we drink, but also the air we breathe, and the places we call home for lead.

The Biden administration must address the disproportionate effects of lead on communities of color. Environmental racism means Black Americans specifically face higher rates of lead poisoning. One way to see this is through redlining: where residents are denied housing, loans, or aid due to ethnic, racial, and prejudiced societal assumptions. Redlining concentrated Black, Latinx, and low-income homeowners in specific neighborhoods, entrenching segregation, economic inequality, and lack of public services. Redlining intentionally confined already marginalized people into neighborhoods with greater environmental risks, like lower air quality, increased industrial plants and landfills, and higher lead contamination. The fact that the main source of lead today is from the historic use of lead in gasoline, means that lead is dispersed throughout the environment, but is more concentrated in areas with lots of transportation, for example, near highways. Redlining has made these areas predominantly communities of color, as opposed to the suburbs where there is significantly less lead. These environmental risks have resulted in Black children having lead poisoning six times more often than white children. Nationwide, one in four Black children living in homes built before 1950 housing and one in six living in poverty have lead poisoning.

Not only is lead disproportionately in communities of color, but cleanup is slow at best. Flint, Michigan is the poster case for lead poisoning, and the devastating effects it has in communities. Obama initially denied requests for a disaster declaration, which would have freed up $96 million in federal aid to replace leaching pipes. Even after the Obama administration declared an emergency in Flint, giving $5 million in federal aid, and despite Obama infamously ‘drinking’ the water in May 2016 to prove it was safe, the Flint water crisis continues to this day. Scientists believe there may be thousands of “Flints” across the country. This abandonment of communities of color will not fix itself, and must be the new administration’s top priority. Biden’s stance on fighting environmental problems through an environmental justice lens shows promise, but cannot end at lip service.

The Biden administration must take decisive action on lead so that one of the worst environmental problems of the 20^th century does not continue into the 21^st century. A focus on environmental justice focus, adequate funding and following science are critical. We must move beyond publicity stunts, like Obama’s in Flint, and strive to address the threat of lead once and for all.