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Thursday, February 4th, 2016

18 cities in Pennsylvania reported higher levels of lead exposure than Flint

Author:     Sarah Frostenson
Source:     Vox
Publication Date:     February 3, 2016, 10:30 a.m. ET
 Link: 18 cities in Pennsylvania reported higher levels of lead exposure than Flint
Stephan:   When the Flint water story broke I suggested that while the Flint story was the result of Governor Rick Snyder's nefarious Republican incompetence and a failure of his public office the truth  is America's aging infrastructure almost surely meant that lead was leeching into the water systems of other cities. Well the predication is sadly coming true. Here's the story. If you live in an older American city I recommend that you have your water tested and if, as I suspect is pretty common, the results are your water is unsafe that you obtain a filter at the point of intake so that you and your family have potable water. I just got back this afternoon from speaking at Ervin Laszlo's Institute in Italy where I was asked three times, "Has America deteriorated so much that your citizens can't even rely on having reliable safe water to drink?" The answer apparently is: Yes. This is a huge problem; the question is: will anything be done about it.  
Credit: www.vernkummersplumbing.com

Credit: www.vernkummersplumbing.com

The lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan, was a surprise, an emergency that occurred after the city switched to a new, cheaper water source.

But there are at least six cities in the United States where we should, in theory, have really good data on lead exposure. In fiscal year 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent almost $2 million as part of a three-year funding commitment to help some of the biggest cities in the country monitor lead exposure.

I spent the past week looking at these cities, and came away with three main findings. The first is that the rate of lead exposure in Pennsylvania is incredibly alarming. Nearly 10 percent of the more than 140,000 kids tested had levels of 5 or more micrograms per deciliter of lead in the blood (5 µg/dL) — this is the threshold the government uses to identify children with dangerously elevated blood lead levels. One percent tested positive for blood lead levels greater than 10 µg/dL.

Compare that to Flint, where state data shows the rate of lead exposure for 5 […]

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