Young girl drinking water

Lead Pipes and Environmental Justice. A study of lead pipe replacement in Washington, DC

This report found that lead pipe replacement programs in Washington, DC disproportionately benefited wealthier, predominantly white neighborhoods, leaving low-income and minority communities at greater risk of lead exposure due to the financial burden of replacing private service lines.

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Milwaukee is one of the few cities in the country with a prioritization plan to ensure neighborhoods likely to suffer the most severe impacts from lead poisoning get their pipes replaced first. In consultation with a community-based group, Coalition for Lead Emergency (COLE), and following a public engagement process, Milwaukee included in an ordinance three indicators to prioritize where LSLs will be removed first:

  1. The area deprivation index (ADI), which is a compilation of social determinants of health
  2. The percentage of children found to have elevated lead levels in their blood when tested for lead poisoning
  3. The density of lead service lines in the neighborhood.

Read more here.