A new study shows that more than two-thirds of children under age 6 in Chicago may have been exposed to lead-contaminated water.
The study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, analyzed lead exposure based on lead tests in 38,385 homes collected by the Chicago Department of Water Management between January 2016 and September 2023. The researchers used machine learning, an artificial intelligence technique that uses algorithms to predict lead. Tap water levels across Chicago based on this available data.
They found that nearly 75% of housing blocks in Chicago had lead-contaminated water. And in Chicago, more than two-thirds of children under age 6 (about 129,000) live in these blocks and may be exposed to lead-contaminated water.
D., lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “The extent of lead contamination in tap water in Chicago is disheartening; this is not something we should be seeing in 2024,” Benjamin Huynh said. a newsletter.
The study found that city blocks with predominantly Black or Hispanic populations were less likely to be tested for lead and more likely to have lead-contaminated drinking water.
“For more than 30 years, lead has been the emblematic example of environmental racism. D., a pediatrician and professor at Michigan State University who helped uncover the Flint water crisis and was not involved in this study. “It continues to be children of color or poor children who are disproportionately affected by the emergence of the Flint water crisis,” said Monna Hanna-Attisha.
The cutoff researchers used to determine whether a residential block had lead-contaminated drinking water was whether the majority of tests within a block had lead concentrations of more than 1 part per billion (ppb). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there is no safe level of lead in water.
The EPA’s current “action level” for lead in drinking water, at which a municipality must take additional steps to educate the public and replace lead service lines, is 15 ppb in 10% of samples. The study found that 9% of home tests in Chicago had lead levels exceeding 15 ppb, Johns Hopkins reported.
According to the EPA, lead gets into the water when lead-containing pipes, faucets and fixtures corrode and slug lead into the water. Lead pipes were often used to connect homes to water mains before they were banned in 1986.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission, there is no safe level of lead for children. “Even low blood lead levels have been shown to affect learning, attention ability, and academic achievement,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Lead “bioaccumulates” in the body, meaning it persists and accumulates over time, so continued exposure even at extremely low levels can become toxic. According to the EPA, children, especially infants, are particularly vulnerable because a smaller dose of lead compared to adults can have a greater impact on health.
“A dose of lead that has little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. The EPA website states that low-level exposure in children can cause central and peripheral nervous system damage, learning disabilities, short stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation of blood cells.” and is stated to be related to its function.
Sources of lead exposure may include lead-based paint and products, lead in soil and air, and lead in drinking water, according to the CDC. According to experts, 10% to 20% of our lead exposure comes from contaminated water.
Many cities still use lead water pipes installed before the EPA’s ban; The agency says more than 9.2 million households across the U.S. get water from lead pipes. Chicago has nearly 400,000 lead service pipes, more than any other U.S. city, according to the study.
The EPA has proposed requiring most lead water pipes to be replaced within 10 years. Huynh said it would take Chicago 40 years to comply with the proposal, given the extraordinary number of lead water pipes in the city.
Hanna-Attisha said the water crisis in Flint and ongoing advocacy has led to the realization that lead-contaminated drinking water is a serious problem, but stronger policies are still needed. In February, the Biden administration announced $5.8 billion in funding to help replace lead pipes and improve water infrastructure across the country.
While municipalities work to replace lead pipes, they should also take temporary measures to expand access to lead testing and provide filtration to anyone with a lead service line, Huynh said.
Many experts recommend that parents have their children’s lead levels tested at ages 1 and 2, and possibly more frequently depending on the region of the country. Testing can easily be performed by a pediatrician or local state, county, or city health department.
Lead cannot be seen, tasted or smelled; Therefore, the only way to know the amount of lead in drinking water is to test. According to the EPA, people can reduce lead in their drinking water by testing their water, contacting their water supplier to determine if service lines are made of lead, and using and maintaining a proper filter.
CNN’s Madeline Holcombe and Sandee LaMotte contributed to this report.
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