Running Head: LEAD IN WATER 1

Lead in Water

Krystal Garcia

Arizona State University

April 16, 2019

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Lead in Water

Although drinking water can appear clear as crystal, smell like nothing, and taste normal,

there can still be harmful chemicals present. The pervasive environmental metal by the name of

lead, is unfortunately one of the biggest issues around drinking water. Lead is hard to detect and

is very harmful to the human body if consumed. Lead can enter drinking water through lead

corroded service pipes, fixtures, and solder. Corrosion is a wearing away of metal that occurs

when a chemical reaction takes place between the water and the plumbing. Many factors play

into how lead enters the water such as the temperature of the water, how long the water stays in

the pipes, the amount of corrosion in the pipes, the amount of lead the water comes in contact

with, and the chemistry of the water.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set the maximum

contaminant level of lead in drinking water, to be at zero because there is no amount of lead

exposure considered safe. According to ​Basic Information about Lead in Water ​by the EPA, lead

exposure in adults can cause cardiovascular effects such as increased blood pressure and the

occurrence of hypertension. It may also cause decreased kidney function and reproductive

problems in both females and males. An amount of lead that would have little effect on an adult

can have a notebly effect on a growing child, infant, or fetus. Lead exposure to a pregnant

woman could lead to reduced growth of fetus and/or premature birth. The harmful effects that

may occur in a child are behavior problems, learning problems, slowed growth, hearing

problems, and amenia.

Despite lead having a significant effect of children, public schools across the United

States have found lead in their drinking water. In the article ​Lead in water: Study shows many
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schools have far too much ​by Maggie Fox it states that “There’s no coherent policy for lead

testing, and half of all U.S. students go to schools in states that do not even bother to have

programs for testing drinking water for lead.” Also in that article, a report from the Federal

Government Accountability Office from 2018 found that forty-one percent of school districts had

not tested for lead within the past year and students had elevated lead levels in thirty-seven

percent of school districts. As stated by the article, ​Beyond Flint​ by Alison Young and Mark

Nichols on USA Today, the levels of lead in the drinking water at Maine Elementary school

were 42 times higher than the EPA limit. While a preschool in Pennsylvania was 14 times higher

than the EPA limit. There have been multiple public places, schools, daycares, and houses

spanning throughout the United States that have tested their water and found unsafe levels of

lead.

In 2003 and 2004 Washington D.C. found a widespread contamination of lead in their

drinking water, which resulted in cutting off drinking water access to public schools. In 2014

Flint, Michigan switched over to Flint River as their water source in an attempt to save money

and direct it elsewhere. Soon after, the residents of Flint noticed that the water started to taste,

look, and smell funny. It was later discovered that a very high amount of lead was present in

their water. In 2017, USA Today Network investigation has found almost 2,000 additional water

systems throughout the United States, containing high levels of lead over the past years. 350 of

those water systems provides water to schools and daycares and all together they provide water

to about 6 million people.

Violations of the Lead and Copper Rule include failure to test water properly, treat water

properly, and failure to notify findings to the residents. According to the NRDC’s report in 2016,
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the EPA is aware that many utilities are “cheating” and “gaming the system” by testing their

water with questionable methods to avoid detecting high levels of lead. Aside from the EPA not

sufficiently enforcing the Lead and Copper Rule, the government as well as states have their

reasoning as to why there is still lead present in drinking sources. One the other hand, the

government, states, and EPA ignore this nationwide issue. According to the article ​Lead in

America's water systems is a national problem b​ y Rachel Layne, one of the major issues with

fixing the nations lead crisis is it’s aging infrastructure. Drinking water is transported through

millions of pipes across the United States. According to a 2017 report from the American Society

of Civil Engineers much os these pipes were laid in the 20th century giving them a lifespan of 75

to 100 years. With the amount of old water pipes there are and the replacement rate at 0.5 percent

per year, it would take roughly about two centuries to replace the whole system, and would cost

around $1 trillion. Another issue that arises, from a report from the Government Accountability

Office, is how difficult it becomes to pinpoint where exactly the lead issue is coming from. In

this article is states “especially given what the GOA noties is a lack of records about the

locations of the lead service lines. In 1991 when the Lead and Copper Rule was first executed the

agency estimated about 10 million lead pipes were in service and today they estimate about 6.1

million.

Lead is a very harmful metal that is not safe for either adults or children. It has been a

nationwide issue for quite some time and has not been taken seriously or given the attention it

deserves. The cost to replace old plumbing all throughout the U.S. and to test for lead regularly

at schools, daycares, and public places will never amount to the price of clean water for humans.

Water is a basic human right and will always be a necessity.

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References

Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water. (2019, March 28). Retrieved from

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drink

ing-water

Does your school test for lead in the drinking water? (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/lead-water-study-shows-many-schools-have

-far-too-much-n956851

Ganim, S. (2016, June 29). 5,300 U.S. water systems are in violation of lead rules. Retrieved

from ​https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/28/us/epa-lead-in-u-s-water-systems/index.html

Young, A., & Nichols, M. (2017, March 27). Beyond Flint: Excessive lead levels found in

almost 2,000 water systems across all 50 states. Retrieved from

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tes

ts/81220466/