Sources Library

Sources Library

This page lists the primary sources we cite repeatedly across our editorial coverage. It is not exhaustive — every individual article includes its own complete reference list — but it represents the foundational evidence base for our framework.

For corrections, source disputes, or to suggest additions, see Contact.

Federal regulatory sources

Regulatory Alignment

Primary Federal Documents


  • EPALead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). Final Rule, 89 FR 86416; October 30, 2024.

  • EPAHazard Standards and Clearance Levels for Lead in Paint, Dust and Soil. Final Rule, 84 FR 32632; July 9, 2019.

  • EPALead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program. 40 CFR Part 745; effective April 22, 2010.

  • HUDAmerican Healthy Homes Survey II: Lead Findings. Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes; 2021.

  • HUDLead Safe Housing Rule. 24 CFR Part 35; current as amended.

  • CDCCDC Updates Blood Lead Reference Value to 3.5 µg/dL. October 2021.

  • CDCRecommended Actions Based on Blood Lead Level. Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program; 2024.

  • OSHAOccupational Lead Exposure — Construction. 29 CFR 1926.62.

  • CMSEPSDT: A Guide for States. Coverage in the Medicaid Benefit for Children and Adolescents. 2024 update.

  • APADiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Association Publishing; 2022.

Foundational peer-reviewed work

Some of the most-cited peer-reviewed work anchoring our coverage:

References & Sources Consulted


  1. Lanphear BP, Hornung R, Khoury J, et al. Low-level environmental lead exposure and children’s intellectual function: an international pooled analysis. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113(7):894–899.

  2. Bellinger DC. Very low lead exposures and children’s neurodevelopment. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2008;20(2):172–177.

  3. Reuben A, Caspi A, Belsky DW, et al. Association of childhood blood lead levels with cognitive function and socioeconomic status at age 38 years and with IQ change and socioeconomic mobility between childhood and adulthood. JAMA. 2017;317(12):1244–1251.

  4. Welte JW, Barnes GM, Tidwell MO, Wieczorek WF. Gambling and problem gambling in the United States: changes between 1999 and 2013. Journal of Gambling Studies. 2015;31(3):695–715.

  5. Edwards M, Triantafyllidou S, Best D. Elevated blood lead in young children due to lead-contaminated drinking water. Environ Sci Technol. 2009;43(5):1618–1623.

  6. Roy A, Bellinger D, Hu H, et al. Lead exposure and behavior among young children in Chennai, India. Environ Health Perspect. 2009;117(10):1607–1611.

Standards and methods

  • NSF/ANSI Standard 53 — Drinking Water Treatment Units — Health Effects (lead reduction certification standard)
  • AWWA Manual M67 — Lead Service Line Inventory: Best Practices (American Water Works Association, 2024)
  • NIOSH Method 7082 — Lead in paint by atomic absorption spectrophotometry
  • NIOSH Method 9100 — Lead in surface wipe samples

Professional organization references

  • American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatric Environmental Health. 4th Edition. Etzel RA, ed. 2019. (The standard reference for pediatric environmental health practice.)
  • American Public Health Association. Position statements on lead exposure and on behavioral health integration.
  • National Council on Problem Gambling. A Public Health Approach to Gambling-Related Harm. 2024.
  • Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) — federally-supported regional clinical resources for pediatric environmental health consultation.

Federal data sources

  • CDC NHANES — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The dataset underlying current pediatric blood lead distributional analysis.
  • CDC Childhood Blood Lead Surveillance — state-reported blood lead testing data.
  • EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) — public water system compliance data.
  • HUD American Healthy Homes Survey — periodic survey of U.S. residential lead-paint hazards.
  • SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) — annual behavioral health survey, including problem-gambling questions.

How we use these sources

Sources in this library are referenced in individual articles where directly relevant to specific claims. We do not cite a source on this list unless it is the actual source of the specific claim being made. Citation is direct: where this list shows “Lanphear et al., 2005,” that citation appears on articles where Lanphear’s specific findings are referenced — not as decorative scholarship.

For our complete editorial methodology, see Methodology.