Posts Tagged: lead pipes

EPA seeking input on lead exposure from lead wheel weights

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking the public for information on the potential ways in which people might be exposed to lead through the use of wheel weights. Lead exposure can have devastating impacts to human health and can be especially harmful to developing children. [Green Car Congress] The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) requests information… Read more »

Lead in water a threat to two-thirds of young children in Chicago

Two out of three very young children in Chicago were exposed to at least trace amounts of lead in their home tap water, a study found, highlighting the need for City Hall to speed up replacements of brain-damaging lead pipes. [Chicago Sun-Times] A study by Johns Hopkins and Stanford researchers, published Monday in the medical… Read more »

Cook County Partners with Elevate to Provide Free Whole-Home Upgrades to Cook County Families

Healthy Homes for Healthy Families supports suburban Cook County families by providing free safety, energy efficiency, water conservation and whole-home upgrades Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined the County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability (DES), Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) and nonprofit Elevate today to announce the launch of Healthy Homes for… Read more »

How to speed up replacement of toxic lead pipes

With Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration projecting it will take 40 years and up to $12 billion to replace toxic lead water pipes throughout the city, aldermen are pressing for changes to speed up the work while driving down costs. On Tuesday a pair City Council committees heard from water officials in Cincinnati and Newark, New Jersey, two… Read more »

Chicago receives $336M federal loan to replace portion of lead water lines

Loan will cover replacement of just 7 percent of Chicago’s more than 400,000 lead pipes Chicago will receive a $336 million loan to replace up to 30,000 lead pipes across the city, according to an announcement made on Friday by city, state and local leaders. Chicago contains the most lead service lines in the country,… Read more »

Activists Rally for the Removal of lead pipes in Chicago and strong EPA rules: ‘It’s a harsh reality we’re facing daily’

When Sukky Bleck’s infant son was diagnosed last year with bilateral hydronephrosis, a condition preventing urine from draining from the kidney into the bladder, she started questioning herself. [Chicago Tribune] “Was it something I did? What did I do wrong? How can I fix it,” the 27-year-old Southeast Side resident said. Bleck said she soon… Read more »

Some States Reject Federal Money to Find and Replace Millions of Dangerous Lead Pipes

As the Biden administration makes billions of dollars available to remove millions of dangerous lead pipes that can contaminate drinking water and damage brain development in children, some states are turning down funds. [PBS News Hour and the Chicago Tribune]. A cut pipe is pulled from a dig site for lead testing in Royal Oak, Michigan. Lead can… Read more »

My Chicago neighbors and I have lived with lead in our water. Enough is enough.

Safe drinking water is a fundamental human right. Yet, year after year, families in my community still struggle with lead-contaminated drinking water — and it’s coming straight from their faucets. [Chicago Tribune 8.16.2023] The Southeast Side of Chicago is made up of several vibrant communities, full of old houses like mine, plagued by many environmental… Read more »

Here’s Why There Is Still So Much Lead Pipe in Chicago- Time

Even though lead in drinking water damages children’s development, the Environmental Protection Agency has forced very few cities to replace their lead pipes. [Time magazine 7.9.2023] Consider Chicago, with more water pipes made out of lead than any U.S. city, some 400,000. About 7% of homes that requested sampling last year exceeded federal limits, and in at… Read more »