How to Avoid Lead: 10 Places It Lurks

Lead in drinking water spans centuries.

Leaded pipes & solder, improper disposal of leaded waste, and industrial pollution can contaminate drinking sources. Although regulations treat water, it is not a perfect system. Plus, leaded pipes still exist in some American plumbing systems. (40, 64)

One example (out of many): the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis. (41, 42, 86)

I could write a completely separate article on this issue alone. But I will try to give it some justice with a few paragraphs.

Flint, Michigan’s population is predominantly Black and Latinx. (86)

In 2013, the Michigan Governor rerouted Flint’s water source to the Flint River in an attempt to cut costs. Subjected to years of improper waste disposal, pollution, and raw sewage from nearby industry and landfills, Flint River was highly corrosive. (41, 42, 86)

Inadequately treated, the corrosive water was then piped through antiquated lead pipes, also called Lead Service Lines (LSL). The lead pipes corroded. Lead then leached into the corrosive water. (41, 42, 86)

Flint residents reported foul smelling, off-tasting, and colored water that caused rashes, itchiness, and hair loss. (41, 42)

That was only the beginning.

Officials ignored mounting reports and concerns from Flint residents. In 2014, researchers at Virginia Tech discovered that water lead levels had spiked 17%. (41, 42)

Cases of Legionnaires disease (a severe type of pneumonia), death, and developmental delays affected nearly 9,000 of Flint’s children. Blood tests reveled that lead levels had doubled and nearly tripled in Flint’s children. (41, 42)

It took two years for advisory warnings and safety precautions to be written in Spanish. All public messaging, warnings, and safety precautions until then were in English. For many Spanish-speaking residents, this was the first they learned of the 2-year-old crisis. (86)

Eventually, governmental bodies initiated the FAST Start Program. This provided safe water and funds to replace Flint’s leaded pipes. As of 2022, the city has moved into the final stage of pipe replacement (41, 42)

The governmental actions were highly criticized as late, unjust, insufficient, and racist. (40, 41, 42, 86)

And, the people of Flint are still dealing with the impacts of lead-poisoned water. 80% of children in a sample required help for an language, learning, or intellectual disorder, whereas before the water crisis only 15% of children required special education services. (96)

And, a 2022 study concluded that Flint’s school district is disproportionately filled with students with special needs compared to other school districts. (94)

And due to discriminatory housing policies, leaded pipes are more concentrated in Black and Latinx communities. Black children are 4x more likely to have elevated blood lead levels that children of other races. And being Black in America is a bigger risk factor for lead poisoning than poverty or poor housing. (95)