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U.S. NEWSMonday 11 April 2016

American Living:

US water systems repeatedly exceed federal standard for lead

In this photo taken Wednesday April 6, 2016 students walk past the historic Thompson Hall at the systems that are owned southwest of Chicago,
University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. The water system serving the University is among and operated by schools lead levels have exceed-
more than two dozen in New Hampshire that have exceeded the federal lead standard at least and day care centers in 41 ed the federal standard in
once in the last three years. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) states. Galesburg officials 22 out of 30 testing periods
downplay the water’s po- since 1992. City officials say
RYAN J. FOLEY dren under the age of 6 gency when the city’s en- tential contribution to lead their ground water and wa-
MEGHAN HOYER in Knox County had lead tire water system was de- poisoning, which can af- ter mains are lead-free, but
Associated Press levels exceeding the state clared unsafe. fect children’s mental de- the toxin enters the supply
GALESBURG, Ill. (AP) — This standard for public health An Associated Press analy- velopment. But city coun- in service lines that deliver
railroad town promotes its intervention, a rate six times sis of Environmental Protec- cilor Peter Schwartzman water from the streets to
ties to Abraham Lincoln, higher than the Illinois aver- tion Agency data found called the AP’s findings 4,700 homes. Lead-based
Ronald Reagan and the age, in 2014. that nearly 1,400 water alarming. plumbing fixtures that were
poet Carl Sandburg. But Galesburg offers just one systems serving 3.6 million “Most people in Galesburg common in homes built be-
Galesburg’s long history example of how the prob- Americans exceeded the are not really being told fore 1980 also contribute.
also shows in a hidden way: lem of lead-tainted drink- federal lead standard at that there is a problem,” The city discovered its most
Aging pipes have been ing water goes far beyond least once between Jan. said Schwartzman, an en- recent problem last fall,
leaking lead into the drink- Flint, Michigan, the former 1, 2013, and Sept. 30, 2015. vironmental scientist. “I’m when 7 out of 40 samples
ing water for decades. auto manufacturing center The affected systems are very close to this and didn’t came back at unaccept-
Blood tests show cause for where the issue exploded large and small, public and know it. I feel ignorant.” able levels. The city fol-
concern. One in 20 chil- into a public health emer- private, and include 278 The AP reviewed 25 years lowed EPA guidelines by
of sampling data reported informing residents of the
by 75,000 drinking water situation two months later.
systems that are subject Its notice said that a chem-
to a federal lead rule that ical added to the water
took effect in 1991. Details since 1993 has been effec-
of the EPA data were first tive in reducing the lead
reported by USA Today. levels and resulted in “lead
While no amount of lead compliance since 2010,” a
exposure is considered misleading statement since
safe, the rule calls for water no testing was required in
systems to keep levels be- 2013 and 2014. The notice
low 15 parts per billion. added that recent test-
If more than 10 percent of ing showed the standard
sampled high-risk homes had been exceeded “by a
are above that level, wa- narrow margin.” In reality,
ter agencies must inform lead levels were 1.5 times
customers about the prob- the standard. Whitney
lem and take steps such as Zielke, 32, said her mother
adding chemicals to con- “freaked out” after receiv-
trol corrosion and prevent ing that notice but that she
leaching of the lead. didn’t know what to think.
In Galesburg, a community
of 31,000 about 200 miles Continued on Page 27