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By Amy Lupica, ODP Daily Editor The UN Environment Program (UNEP) announced Monday that the global use of leaded gasoline has finally ended after Algerian service stations phased the fuel out last month. Leaded gasoline has been used since 1922, and by 1970 was nearly ubiquitous around the world, but the consequences of its use have been devastating for […]
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By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Having a glass of clean, safe water should be as easy as turning on the tap. But that’s not what a Consumer Reports/The Guardian US investigation of tap water nationwide found. More than a third of the water they sampled had “concerning” levels of PFAS, a class of lab-created […]
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by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Despite a century of knowledge on the dangers of lead poisoning, dozens of studies showing the impacts of lead on children’s development, and high-profile humanitarian disasters like the 2014 Flint Water Crisis, millions of Americans are still being exposed to lead in their drinking water. What’s worse: new studies […]
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by Amy Lupica, ODP Contributing Writer A new study released last week found that 80% of homes in the U.S. have lead in their tap water and that babies fed formula mixed with tap water were the most at risk for lead exposure. Additionally, researchers found that Black infants were more likely to be exposed […]
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Two new reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists explain in detail how this administration’s rollbacks of bedrock environmental, health and safety standards have exposed children to more poisons in the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air that they breathe and has actively suppressed the science that would give us a greater understanding of how children are uniquely affected by chemicals and toxins.
Why This Matters: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says no safe blood-lead level for lead has been found for children — they should not be exposed at all.
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The Trump administration — after years of promising and more than 9 years of work by EPA — finally issued a proposed rule on lead in drinking water that does not require the removal of the estimated 6 million or more lead service lines that remain underground throughout the nation, and in fact, it doubles the amount of time allotted to replace lead pipes in water systems that contain high levels of lead.
Why This Matters: They may try to put lipstick on this pig (sorry for the old pun), and it could have been worse, but when the Trump Administration brags that they put this rule in place, the question should be why did they not do more? This proposed rule is hardly sufficient to deal with the scope and the harm caused by lead in drinking water in this nation.
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