It's time to get lead out of our drinking water. There is no safe level of lead exposure, and babies and young children are particularly vulnerable to the serious and irreversible damage to developing brains and nervous systems. However one NRDC analysis found that 56 percent of the U.S. population — communities in every state — are consuming water from drinking water systems detecting concerning amounts of lead.
And communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by drinking water violations and lead contamination that are too often ignored or unaddressed.
But there is hope: Along with President Biden's historic bipartisan infrastructure law which is sending $15 billion to states to remove lead service lines, the EPA has released a draft strategy to reduce lead exposure in U.S. communities, strengthen protections, and address a legacy of environmental injustice against communities with the greatest exposures. It's crucial that EPA's strategy protect children and families from the scourge of lead from our drinking water systems!
Antonio, the EPA has opened up public comments on how to protect communities from the dangers of lead-contaminated water, but only until March 16. Submit your official public comment in support of this strategy and help secure safe, lead-free drinking water for ALL!
Industry groups are opposing strong EPA rules that would crack down on lead contamination in tap water, arguing that it will cost too much to comply. We must do all we can to put an end to the lead-contaminated water crisis, so make sure you submit your comment before the March 16 deadline.
As a mom, I want to make sure my children have a bright and healthy future. I never want to worry if there is lead in the water I'm putting in my toddler's sippy cup. That's why I support the EPA's goals to reduce lead exposure and protect children's health. And to achieve that goal, the EPA has announced three clear approaches:
✔ Reduce lead exposures locally: With a focus on addressing environmental injustice and public health disparities, the EPA will work with partners to identify communities where lead exposure and blood lead levels are known to be the highest. Submit a public comment in support of the draft strategy.
✔ Reduce lead exposures nationally: Through protective standards, tools, and outreach, the EPA will prevent and reduce lead exposures by developing and implementing critical new national standards, policies, and guidance, and enforcing existing regulations. Help keep communities safe from lead exposure.
✔ Reduce lead exposure with a "whole of government" approach: The agency will collaborate across EPA programs and with federal partners and other governmental stakeholders — including states, tribes, cities, and counties — to focus the full range of resources to reduce lead exposures from all sources in the most impacted communities. Submit your comment now.
These three approaches — and the actions and the funding that the EPA will need to achieve them — are critical if we're going to finally rid this country of rampant lead exposure, get lead out of our drinking water systems, and ensure that all people in the U.S. have access to safe drinking water. But it will be up to us to make that vision a reality for your family and mine:
Please, be a part of this fight to secure a future free from lead contamination by submitting your public comment in support of this lead strategy by March 16.
Thank you for standing with us at this critical moment to help end the toxic legacy of lead.
Onward,
Angela Guyadeen
Director, Safe Water Initiative, NRDC
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