boutons_deux
06-23-2017, 11:07 AM
“The data gaps are so huge. It is abominable. We have a huge number of people in this country living completely in the dark,”
the Safe Water Drinking Act and the Lead and Copper Rule, but leaves it to states, utilities, and property owners to test that water and enforce the laws.
The rules require water systems serving at least 100,000 people, for instance, to test 100 taps every six months. The requirements decrease from there. Systems that serve, say, 90,000 people must test just 60 taps. Smaller systems, only five. And certain systems qualify for reduced testing. In some cases, that means testing once every nine years.
“Would you really rely on a sample of 100 people in New York or Boston?” says Feigl-Deng. “In no universe is that going to give you a statistically significant result. That’s just ludicrous.”
“If you had nothing but lead going straight to your house, nobody would know that, because all that gets captured is there was a violation.”
“This problem demonstrates the need for a federal program to underwrite lead clean-up,” Hsu says. “Cash-strapped people and municipal governments do not have the resources necessary to remedy such a broad and persistent hazard.”
“You’re talking about only 25 to 30 states that consistently report blood lead levels. And poor and rural people who don’t go to the doctor are less likely to be reported,” says Feng. “By the time kids have elevated lead levels, gosh, it’s almost too late.”
A recent USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tests/81220466/)investigation (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tests/81220466/) found seven water systems in Ohio failed last year to notify the public of heightened lead levels within 60 days last as mandated by the EPA. Several more in Arizona that reported unsafe water levels to the government years before only alerted the public after USA Today began its investigation.
negligence usually comes down to a lack of resources and concerns over the cost of addressing the problems, problems that could be exacerbated by President Trump desire to cut the EPA's funding by 30 percent because federal funding helps defray the cost of testing.
Testing water and mitigating contamination is expensive, Griffiths says, but states must consider the repercussions of poisoning an entire generation of people.
Lead poisoning can cause developmental delay in children, reduced IQ levels, anemia, and hypertension in adults. “These are kids who are not going to be as smart as they would have been,” Griffiths says.
Given that, you can consider spending the money for more and better testing an investment in the future.
https://www.wired.com/story/data-lead-poisoning-flint
People would rather vote down taxes to finance water bonds than protect their children.
I guarantee you, capitalist-owned, privatized water systems don't GAF about lead in water, only about ROI.
the Safe Water Drinking Act and the Lead and Copper Rule, but leaves it to states, utilities, and property owners to test that water and enforce the laws.
The rules require water systems serving at least 100,000 people, for instance, to test 100 taps every six months. The requirements decrease from there. Systems that serve, say, 90,000 people must test just 60 taps. Smaller systems, only five. And certain systems qualify for reduced testing. In some cases, that means testing once every nine years.
“Would you really rely on a sample of 100 people in New York or Boston?” says Feigl-Deng. “In no universe is that going to give you a statistically significant result. That’s just ludicrous.”
“If you had nothing but lead going straight to your house, nobody would know that, because all that gets captured is there was a violation.”
“This problem demonstrates the need for a federal program to underwrite lead clean-up,” Hsu says. “Cash-strapped people and municipal governments do not have the resources necessary to remedy such a broad and persistent hazard.”
“You’re talking about only 25 to 30 states that consistently report blood lead levels. And poor and rural people who don’t go to the doctor are less likely to be reported,” says Feng. “By the time kids have elevated lead levels, gosh, it’s almost too late.”
A recent USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tests/81220466/)investigation (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tests/81220466/) found seven water systems in Ohio failed last year to notify the public of heightened lead levels within 60 days last as mandated by the EPA. Several more in Arizona that reported unsafe water levels to the government years before only alerted the public after USA Today began its investigation.
negligence usually comes down to a lack of resources and concerns over the cost of addressing the problems, problems that could be exacerbated by President Trump desire to cut the EPA's funding by 30 percent because federal funding helps defray the cost of testing.
Testing water and mitigating contamination is expensive, Griffiths says, but states must consider the repercussions of poisoning an entire generation of people.
Lead poisoning can cause developmental delay in children, reduced IQ levels, anemia, and hypertension in adults. “These are kids who are not going to be as smart as they would have been,” Griffiths says.
Given that, you can consider spending the money for more and better testing an investment in the future.
https://www.wired.com/story/data-lead-poisoning-flint
People would rather vote down taxes to finance water bonds than protect their children.
I guarantee you, capitalist-owned, privatized water systems don't GAF about lead in water, only about ROI.