Lead in drinking water

Lead persists in drinking water despite warnings
By Christina Sturgis for Fiorente Media

While the headlines from Flint, Mich. were shocking, problems with water systems are well-known. In fact, officials and experts say this has been happening all over the United States for a long time.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization, said in 2003 the lead water pipes that were in place in 1900 in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and Washington are largely still in use, but there is insufficient scientific data to precisely measure the impact on human health.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, however, says the negative impact of lead exposure is cumulative, and 20 percent of the exposure is from drinking water.

“The underlying issue with the Flint water supply is that our nation has been under investing in our infrastructure for decades,” said Les Boden, an economist by training and professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.

In Flint, the problem was traced back to the municipal drinking water supply.

The more the water was studied, the more problems emerged from chemical to bacterial contamination with a possible link to deaths from Legionnaire’s disease. Thousands of children also tested positive for lead poisoning there.

The problem surfaced about 18 months after the source of the water was changed and the new source had a more corrosive pH, therefore pulling more lead. Flint had been sharing Detroit’s municipal water then changed to the Flint River.

Criminal charges were then filed against municipal officials for hiding the problem.

Boden said the problem should be attacked at the root, the 19th century water distribution systems.

“Bringing criminal charges might make a difference, but the problem is systemic,” he said, “and it can’t be solved by putting people in jail.

“It we don’t have the money to invest in modernizing our water systems, then things will continue to get worse.

“It we don’t have the money to invest in modernizing our water systems, then things will continue to get worse…’ Boston University’s Les Boden

“It we don’t have the money to invest in modernizing our water systems, then things will continue to get worse. It isn’t a coincidence that this event occurred in a city that has a population that is relatively poor and minority, 42 percent below the poverty line and 58-percent African-American.”

The City of Newark, N.J. has also found lead in its drinking water in the months since January 2016 when Flint declared a state of emergency. Newark, which is 52.4 percent African-American and 29 percent living below the poverty line, found lead in school drinking fountains, where filters had not been replaced according the manufacturer’s schedule.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called for a permanent improvement to the city’s infrastructure, not “just filters.”

FLINT’S PROBLEMS WEREN’T JUST LEAD

As dangerous as lead is, particularly to infants and children, Flint’s problems were not confined to lead. Other health hazards stemming from Flint’s public water supply were coli form bacteria, often referred to as E. coli, contamination by trihalomethanes and Legionnaire’s disease.

E. coli is a consequence of contamination by human waste. The EPA says consumers can guard against E. coli contamination in water by boiling water for at least three minutes, and in fact, has a template on its website for municipal water suppliers to issue when an outbreak occurs. E. coli can cause diarrhea and other ailments in healthy people, but it can be deadly to young children, the frail elderly and others with compromised immune systems.

Lead poisoning can rob infants and children of IQ points and developmental milestones.

Another issue arose in Flint when trihalomethanes were found in the water. Trihalomethanes, which are believed to be carcinogenic, are a by-product of using chlorine to disinfect public water supplies. The EPA is continuing to research the impact of these compounds in water to determine if there is a safe level.

You might think lead poisoning is an old problem, largely solved. Federal law long demanded that lead be removed from gasoline, paint and plumbing. Building codes have long required old paint to be carefully removed or thoroughly sealed. The amount of lead allowed in the solder that connects water pipes has been lowered.

Municipal water systems have tested for lead and informed the public of the results.

Boden said public officials need to have the will to make public health a priority.

“An excessive focus on keeping taxes low and minimizing the importance of government in providing public non-military goods and services has led to the current situation,” he said. “This is a political problem.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Children should be tested for lead poisoning by their pediatricians because it can occur without obvious symptoms, according to the EPA. The only way to determine if your family’s faucet water is safe is to test it.

To find a qualified laboratory call the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. The EPA also has a link to certified testing laboratories for each state. If, for example, you were looking for a certified laboratory which tests for lead in Massachusetts, you would follow the EPA links to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, choose a laboratory certified to test for lead, click on the search button and find a list of eight laboratories by scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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