The Environmental Protection Agency said today that it was considering a total ban on leaded gasoline by 1988. It issued final rules for removing 90 percent of the lead currently in automobile fuel by the end of this year.
The agency said last year that it was contemplating a flat prohibition on lead in gasoline by 1992.
Lee M. Thomas, Administrator of the environmental agency, said that an accelerated schedule for barring all lead in gasoline was being considered in large part because of new information about the adverse effects on human health of lead in the air. In particular, he noted that new studies suggest that lead from gasoline is a significant cause of high blood pressure among adults.
Mr. Thomas said that new data the agency is receiving indicate that lead may not be essential as a lubricant to protect engine valves of older cars and trucks. The contention that lead is needed as a lubricant has been used to argue against a total ban.
Schedule for Reductions
Last year, the agency proposed the first version of the rule that will reguire a sharp reduction in the lead content of gasoline this year. The rule requires that lead content of gasoline, now permitted to be a maximum of 1.1 grams per gallon, be reduced to 0.5 grams per gallon by July 1 and to 0.1 grams per gallon by Jan. 1, 1986.