Lead Concerns Raised In Communities In Nevada And Michigan
Meanwhile, NPR reports on the history of how lead usage became so common.
The Associated Press:
Health Chief: Lead Levels Not A Worry In Kids In Nevada Town
Health officials said Wednesday that tests found no significant lead contamination in the blood of adults or schoolchildren in a former Nevada mining town where more than the federal safety limit for the heavy metal was found in water samples. (Ritter, 4/6)
The Oakland (Mich.) Press:
Lead Limits In Drinking Water Periodically Exceed Federal Limits Locally And Nationally
Lead in drinking water at Delta Kelly Elementary in Rochester Schools doesn’t exceed federal limits, but the amount of copper does. That was the gist of a letter to parents from Superintendent Robert Shaner posted on the elementary school’s Facebook page March 24. ... Michigan, and Oakland County in particular, has had some water tests exceed federal limits for lead, but none recently. In Michigan, EPA data indicates 27 locations, most with private well systems, have tested higher than the federal lead limit of 15 parts per billion since 2013. ... But none of them exceeded federal limits when the water was retested. (Crumm, 4/6)
The Detroit Free Press:
Elevated Copper, Lead Levels Found In 2 DPS Buildings
Water fountains at two Detroit Public Schools' buildings have been turned off after water samples found elevated levels of copper and lead. A drinking fountain at Burton International Academy had copper levels that are above suggested levels by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And at Beard Elementary School, which closed in 2012 but is being leased by a private company for administrative space, a water fountain had higher than suggested levels of lead. (Higgins, 4/6)
NPR:
Before It Was Dangerous, Lead Was The Miracle Metal That We Loved
Residents of Flint, Mich., may tell you lead is a serious menace, but for most of the last 5,000 years, people saw lead as a miracle metal at the forefront of technology. "You can think about lead as kind of the plastic of the ancient world," says Joseph Heppert, a professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas. He says it was because lead is easy to melt — a campfire alone can do it. Unlike iron, lead is malleable. "Once you form it into sheets you can do things that people had really never been able to do before with a metal," he says. "You can roll it into tubes, for example." ... Chris Warren, a professor of history at Brooklyn College, says Romans even sweetened their food with lead. (Morris, 4/6)
