Water filtration is being used as an interim while pipe replacement takes places. The filtration is extremely effective and provided at no cost to those in the affected area.
I'm definitely not arguing that the presence of lead in drinking water is in some way ideal or safe.
The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to determine the level of contaminants in drinking water at which no adverse health effects are likely to occur with an adequate margin of safety. These non-enforceable health goals, based solely on possible health risks, are called maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs). EPA has set the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero because lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels. Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time.
Lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood in children has been established as a safety threshold where detrimental affects are not typically observed, the vast majority of children in flint fall below this level.
Here is a link to a 10 year study of lead levels in children from 2006 to 2016. At their height 11% of children tested at 5 micrograms or higher but that number fell to 3% in 2016 and has continued to drop since then.
Chazmer87 on September 24th, 2019 at 23:07 UTC »
wait, I thought it got fixed?
tff_silverton on September 24th, 2019 at 23:35 UTC »
There are currently over 3000 areas in the US that has lead levels twice that of Flint.
Editing to add sources https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lead-map/reuters-finds-3810-u-s-areas-with-lead-poisoning-double-flints-idUSKBN1DE1H2
https://www.lhsfna.org/index.cfm/lifelines/february-2017/thousands-of-u-s-cities-have-worse-lead-problems-than-flint/
Gordopolis on September 25th, 2019 at 01:12 UTC »
Flints water has fallen within federal standards for the past two years. In fact the water tested at 6ppb when the federal standard is 15ppb.
Blood testing has also shown a decrease in the levels of lead in the bodies of children living in and around Flint.
Water filtration is being used as an interim while pipe replacement takes places. The filtration is extremely effective and provided at no cost to those in the affected area.
I'm definitely not arguing that the presence of lead in drinking water is in some way ideal or safe.
Lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood in children has been established as a safety threshold where detrimental affects are not typically observed, the vast majority of children in flint fall below this level.
Here is a link to a 10 year study of lead levels in children from 2006 to 2016. At their height 11% of children tested at 5 micrograms or higher but that number fell to 3% in 2016 and has continued to drop since then.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/labblog.uofmhealth.org/body-work/study-examines-blood-lead-levels-of-flint-children%3famp