At this point in time when you think about lead poisoning, you think about what is happening right now in Flint, MI. It has been on every news channel for months now, and rightfully so. My worry, though, is we have been talking pretty much exclusively about the murky, red water of Flint, and not the extensive lead issues that are also happening everywhere else in the country.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ”Lead can affect almost every organ and system in your body. Children six years old and younger are most susceptible to the effects of lead. Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in: behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, and anemia.

In rare cases, ingestion of lead can cause seizures, coma and even death. Lead is also harmful to other adults. Adults exposed to lead can suffer from: cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive problems (in both men and women).”

So if we know how bad lead is, and what could happen if we ingest it, why aren’t we as a country on top of our preventative measures for lead? We’re constantly reminded to eradicate lead from our lives from companies like the EPA. They encourage the eradication of lead paint in your home and many places advertise tests to see the amount of lead in your water.

If the government wants us to be lead free, they need to look for ways to fix it within the system. According to the EPA, around 10 million American homes and buildings receive water from lead pipes. They are generally found in the Midwest and Northeast. Usually the counties put corrosion control chemicals into the water, so the lead will not seep out of the pipes and into the water. This was the case with Flint before they switched to their own water supply without such additives.

The problem within the system is that the EPA allows 15 parts lead to a billion, but no lead level is actually safe for human consumption. Furthermore, there is no real way to effectively avoid corrosion, as it can happen with even a simple change of the water’s pH level.

There have been large scale lead poisoning breakouts happening all over the country in places like Baltimore and Toledo. They have also been smaller breakouts in countless counties across the country.

The only true way to stop lead poisoning once and for all is to remove the pipes. It’s ridiculous they haven’t been removed already. Everyone knows lead is bad, so why is the government allowed to keep knowingly poisoning us? The fact that this has been acceptable for so long baffles me, and if it wasn’t for Flint I believe it could have continued happening under the radar for years to come.

So what can you do? Test your water. You can pick up a test kit at any hardware store, and it’s certainly something you want to know. The EPA checks for lead every six months, but it could enter your water system at any time.

Secondly, call your local government official. Find out when the pipes in your town were last changed, and if they use corrosion control methods. Encourage them to start the process of putting in new, lead-free pipes! It’s important to remember the outrage in Flint started with one person. It started with the people becoming outraged and no longer accepting of the government poisoning them. So stand up for your health and your family’s health, and fight lead poisoning in your town.