{"id":117068,"date":"2023-04-14T14:51:18","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T18:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=117068"},"modified":"2023-04-22T14:57:05","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T18:57:05","slug":"lead-pipes-still-a-major-concern-new-epa-report-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/lead-pipes-still-a-major-concern-new-epa-report-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead Pipes Still a Major Concern, New EPA Report Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Samhar Almomani, Publishing Associate<\/span>: Researcher and Writer<\/span> at Save the Water\u2122 | April 14, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <\/span>found that millions of citizens in the U.S. are currently at risk from lead poisoning<\/span><\/a>. The findings revealed that more than 9 million lead service linesare still used to deliver water to families around the country. As a result, this has prompted the agency to <\/span>propose the first national drinking water standard <\/span><\/a>for<\/span> \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d<\/span><\/a> which are considered to have dangerous effects on health.<\/span><\/p>\n

These findings are based on the Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, part of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Researchers conducting this survey <\/span>are concerned with the number of lead service lines<\/span><\/a>. The 2021 survey examined over 3,600 public water systems across the nation. Based on the findings, the EPA announced that it believes there are around 9.2 million lead service lines in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Does the EPA Intend to Do?<\/span><\/h2>\n

New rules set by the agency intend to set drinking water standards for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These chemicals stay in the environment and the human body for long periods of time.<\/span>They are known to have harmful effects<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although there are thousands of PFAS chemicals<\/span><\/a>, the new rules will now mandate that water systems monitor for the presence of six specific chemicals, notify the public about the PFAS levels, and then work towards reduction if the chemicals exceed the limit set forth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled to announce that EPA is taking yet another bold step to protect public health,\u201d <\/span>said US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan<\/span><\/a>. \u201cFolks, this is a tremendous step forward in the right direction. We anticipate that when fully implemented, this rule will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS related illnesses.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Does Lead Affect Health?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Lead poisoning is a serious public health threat <\/span><\/a>that needs to be monitored and mitigated. <\/span>Exposure to lead could come from<\/span><\/a> ingesting or inhaling lead-contaminated water, soil, paint chips, or dust particles. Additionally,\u00a0 lead exposure can also come from ingesting food that contains lead from soil or water. Some of the harmful health effects that lead poisoning can lead to are:<\/span><\/p>\n