New Lead Report Focuses on Post-Flint Next Steps

The Northeast-Midwest Institute has just released a report titled Lead in Drinking Water:  Post-Flint Media Coverage and Policy Changes in the Northeast-Midwest Region.  The Report looks at state-based changes in how lead in drinking water is being addressed in a post-Flint environment.  The analysis focuses particularly on those states geographically located in the northeast and Midwest portions of the country.  The Report also looks at media coverage of lead-related incidents across these same states.  Recommendations for next steps in both research and policy arenas include calls for “…more comprehensive and systematic studies…that provide national and regional impacts of lead contamination in water.”  Another recommended next step is to identify “…effective financing strategies [that] could eliminate a major impediment to capital-intensive projects such as LSL replacement…[and] extensive policy education outreach to state legislators…”  The final recommended next step is to continue ongoing monitoring, noting that the pairing of water testing results “…with blood lead levels can provide accurate assessments of the role of external environment in lead contamination in children…” and call on citizen groups and watchdog agencies to monitor the implementation of new laws and regulations.