![]() ![]() This treatment is called “optimum corrosion control,” and is required in many situations by the EPA’s 1991 Lead and Copper Rule. Since not everyone can afford to replace all of their plumbing, most water providers treat water using certain chemicals that keep the lead in place by reducing corrosion. Water is naturally corrosive, however, which means it breaks down pipes, plumbing joints and fixtures, releasing lead particles into your drinking water. ![]() Most of the lead that ends up in our drinking water comes from plumbing connections and fixtures within homes and buildings, particularly those built before 1986 when the first “lead free” standard was set. Where exactly does the lead in our water come from? ![]() While lead paint and dust continues to be the top source of lead exposure in Multnomah County (where there is a robust site visit and evaluation program to determine lead poisoning sources), eliminating lead in drinking water is a significant opportunity to reduce and prevent lead exposure statewide. Still, even by 2014, non-Hispanic Black children were twice as likely as non-Hispanic white children and more than three times as likely as Mexican American children to have elevated blood lead levels.Īccording to the EPA, drinking water can make up to 20% or more of a person’s total exposure to lead – more for infants who consume mostly mixed formula. This graphic from a 2018 article by Undark Magazine shows how from 1988 to 2014, the percentage of children aged 1 to 5 years with high blood lead levels fell dramatically for multiple racial and ethnic groups. Read the full article on childhood lead exposures. Nationally, Black children are exposed to lead at twice the rates that white children are: When lead continues to show up in our homes and schools, we are holding back entire generations from achieving their full potential. Studies have also shown that young adults who are more heavily exposed to lead in childhood were more likely to be arrested for violent crimes. Lead is a risk factor for many common health conditions, including heart disease and heart attacks, high blood pressure, kidney damage, fertility and pregnancy complications, memory loss, and irritability or aggressive behavior. Bruce Lanphear illustrates how eliminating lead exposure could prevent more than 600,000 cases of ADHD in the United States.Īnd these impacts follow us into adulthood: Children who have higher lead exposure never reach the same peak intellectual ability as children with lower exposure, and adults with higher lead exposure have accelerated declines in their mental abilities as they age. In the short film Crime of the Century: The Lead Pandemic, children’s health and toxics expert Dr. Today we call the combination of many of these behaviors ADHD. Permanent damage to the brain and nervous system.Lead bioaccumulates, meaning it builds up in the body over time, and for children whose bodies and brains are still growing and developing, even low levels of lead poisoning can seriously harm a child’s health and development, including: Watch Crime of the Century: The Lead Pandemic for more history on lead exposure and how it has impacted our health, crime and communities. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization declared that there is no safe level of lead in children’s blood. Today, many past uses of lead have been banned and lead levels in our air, tap water, food, dust, and soil have been significantly reduced. Lead was used in early printing, gasoline, food packaging, leaded glass, house paint and to mass produce lead plumbing. What are the effects of lead poisoning on our health and communities?īy the Industrial Revolution, lead was a well-known killer, but it was so useful and profitable in commercial products that it continued to be used widely for decades. ![]() Read on for a primer on how lead ends up in our drinking water, the health impacts, and who is working to solve these problems. Even though efforts have been made by drinking water providers to replace lead service lines, it’s clear that we still have work to do to address public concerns, ensure everyone has safe water and rebuild public trust. Yet lead continues to be one of the top concerns of many people when asked about their drinking water.Įarlier this year, we heard from several groups in the Portland area about their top water-related toxics concerns, which included lead. Over the past several years, alarming headlines about lead found in drinking water across Oregon have raised public awareness as well as action from public agencies. Statesman Journal: Lead Found in Water in More Salem-Keizer Schools | Aug. ![]()
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