The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster
The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster

Author: Werner Troesken

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2008-09-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0262701251

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The history of a long-running environmental catastrophe chronicles the harmful effects of lead pipes and their continued use despite evidence that they pose a significant health risk. In The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster, Werner Troesken looks at a long-running environmental and public health catastrophe: 150 years of lead pipes in local water systems and the associated sickness, premature death, political inaction, and social denial. The harmful effects of lead water pipes became apparent almost as soon as cities the world over began to install them. Doctors and scientists noted cases of acute illness and death attributable to lead in public water beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, and an editorial in the New York Herald called for the city to study the matter after a bizarre illness made headlines in 1868. But officials took no action for many years. New York City, for example, did not take any steps to reduce lead levels in water until 1992, long after the most serious damage had been done. By then, in any case, much of the old lead pipe had been replaced with safer materials. Troesken examines the health effects of lead exposure, analyzing cases from New York City, Boston, and Glasgow and many smaller towns in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and England. He draws on period accounts, government reports, court decisions, and economic and demographic analysis to document the widespread nature of the problem, the recognized health effects—particularly for pregnant women and young children—and official intransigence. He presents an accessible overview of the old and new science of lead exposure—explaining, for example, why areas with soft water suffered more harmful effects than areas with hard water. And he gives us compelling and vivid accounts of the people and politics involved. The effects of lead in water continue to be felt; many older houses still have lead service pipes. The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster is essential reading for understanding this past and ongoing public health problem.

Copper in Drinking Water
Copper in Drinking Water

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-04-12

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0309172209

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The safety of the nation's drinking water must be maintained to ensure the health of the public. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating the levels of substances in the drinking water supply. Copper can leach into drinking water from the pipes in the distribution system, and the allowable levels are regulated by the EPA. The regulation of copper, however, is complicated by the fact that it is both necessary to the normal functioning of the body and toxic to the body at too high a level. The National Research Council was requested to form a committee to review the scientific validity of the EPA's maximum contaminant level goal for copper in drinking water. Copper in Drinking Water outlines the findings of the committee's review. The book provides a review of the toxicity of copper as well as a discussion of the essential nature of this metal. The risks posed by both short-term and long-term exposure to copper are characterized, and the implications for public health are discussed. This book is a valuable reference for individuals involved in the regulation of water supplies and individuals interested in issues surrounding this metal.

Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children, and Other Sensitive Populations
Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children, and Other Sensitive Populations

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1993-02-01

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 030904927X

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Lead is a ubiquitous toxic agent that is especially damaging to the young child and the developing fetus. Unlike many environmental health risks, the risks associated with lead are no longer theoretical but have been observed for many years. Indeed, the first regulation of lead in paint was enacted in the 1920s. Currently, because of growing evidence of lead toxicity at lower concentrations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently lowered its lead-exposure guideline to 10 ug/dl lead in blood from 25 ug/dl. Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children, and Other Sensitive Populations addresses the public health concern about the logistics and feasibility of lead screening in infants and children at such low concentrations. This book will serve as the basis for all U.S. Public Health Service activities and for all state and local programs in monitoring lead.

What the Eyes Don't See
What the Eyes Don't See

Author: Mona Hanna-Attisha

Publisher: One World

Published: 2018-06-19

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 0399590846

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A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis, by a relentless physician who stood up to power. “Stirring . . . [a] blueprint for all those who believe . . . that ‘the world . . . should be full of people raising their voices.’”—The New York Times “Revealing, with the gripping intrigue of a Grisham thriller.” —O: The Oprah Magazine Here is the inspiring story of how Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, alongside a team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders, discovered that the children of Flint, Michigan, were being exposed to lead in their tap water—and then battled her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world. Paced like a scientific thriller, What the Eyes Don’t See reveals how misguided austerity policies, broken democracy, and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. And at the center of the story is Dr. Mona herself—an immigrant, doctor, scientist, and mother whose family’s activist roots inspired her pursuit of justice. What the Eyes Don’t See is a riveting account of a shameful disaster that became a tale of hope, the story of a city on the ropes that came together to fight for justice, self-determination, and the right to build a better world for their—and all of our—children. Praise for What the Eyes Don’t See “It is one thing to point out a problem. It is another thing altogether to step up and work to fix it. Mona Hanna-Attisha is a true American hero.”—Erin Brockovich “A clarion call to live a life of purpose.”—The Washington Post “Gripping . . . entertaining . . . Her book has power precisely because she takes the events she recounts so personally. . . . Moral outrage present on every page.”—The New York Times Book Review “Personal and emotional. . . She vividly describes the effects of lead poisoning on her young patients. . . . She is at her best when recounting the detective work she undertook after a tip-off about lead levels from a friend. . . . ‛Flint will not be defined by this crisis,’ vows Ms. Hanna-Attisha.”—The Economist “Flint is a public health disaster. But it was Dr. Mona, this caring, tough pediatrican turned detective, who cracked the case.”—Rachel Maddow

Handbook of Drinking Water Quality
Handbook of Drinking Water Quality

Author: John DeZuane

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 1997-01-31

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 9780471287896

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"Well-written and informative." --Richard Lewis, Lewis Information Systems "This [book] combines information which could possibly haverequired as many as four reference sources in the past." --Steven C. Messer In its first edition, John De Zuane's popular reference drewwide praise for being an insightful theoretical resource. Now, inthe second edition of Handbook of Drinking Water Quality, DeZuane builds on that legacy with the same practical and conceptualemphases, adding a wealth of new information that providesimmediate access to the data and guidelines needed to * understand the impact of drinking water parameters on publichealth * help build and operate water supply facilities * conduct reliable drinking water sampling, monitoring, andanalytical evaluation * implement potability standards from the source to the treatmentfacility, to storage, to the tap * write new standards and expand/modify existing standards asquickly as needed Preventing contamination of drinking water requires amultidisciplinary perspective, one that incorporates elements ofbacteriology, chemistry, physics, engineering, public health,preventive medicine, and control and evaluation management. In aconcise, easy-to-use format, Handbook of Drinking WaterQuality, Second Edition, describes * Data and guidelines from the World Health Organization and theEuropean Community used to develop drinking water standards * U.S. drinking water standards--their physical, chemical,microbiological, and radionuclide parameters and monitoringrequirements * EPA-approved analytical methods and the most effectivetreatment technologies for each contaminant * Critical concepts of water quality control as applied in watertreatment in conventional or chemical treatment plants * Disinfection and fluoridation requirements * Common problems with water distribution systems, including deadends, sediments, bacterial growth, insufficient pressure, and mainbreaks To keep pace with recent breakthroughs in scientific research,water analysis, and program implementation and monitoring, thisSecond Edition features expanded and updated informationon * All drinking water regulations issued since the previousedition in 1990 * Current drinking water standards adopted by the EuropeanCommunity * Lead poisoning, radon, and Cryptosporidium * Compulsory water treatment for lead and copper * Coliform Rule compliance (disinfection and filtration) * Trihalomethane reduction with ozonation As a quick reference, handbook, and technical manual Handbookof Drinking Water Quality, Second Edition, is an essentialvolume for engineers, water supply and treatment personnel,environmental scientists, public health officials, or anyoneresponsible for assuring the safety of drinking water.

Water 4.0
Water 4.0

Author: David Sedlak

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2014-01-28

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 030017649X

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The little-known story of the systems that bring us our drinking water, how they were developed, the problems they are facing, and how they will be reinvented in the near future