Lead Pipes Case

In the Chicago Tribune article, “As Other Cities Dig Up Pipes Made Of Toxic Lead, Chicago Resists,” the author discusses Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s efforts to modernize Chicago’s aging and deteriorating water system; however, as other cities prefer to tackle the root problem and replace the toxic lead pipes altogether, Rahm prefers to resist this approach and, instead, continue with his original project that will only help to increase lead exposure to Chicagoans. While, at first glance, this dilemma appears to only be a health-related one, upon further analysis, it can certain be argued that this case showcases health as a political issue that involves structures of power, especially in relation to race. According to the article, “Towards a politics …show more content…
Homeowners will be asked to sign waivers allowing crews to dig up their yards, with the city focusing initially on properties where high lead levels have been detected in tap water or where a child has been diagnosed with lead poisoning.” Racial structures of power are certainly at play here since the amount of lead pipes in Galesburg, a predominantly white community, doesn’t even compare to the “…roughly 385,000 lead service lines [that] remain in Chicago…” (Chicago Tribune)—a city that is home to a large minority population. Moreover, the fact that negative side effects of lead exposure are essentially being allowed to take place in a diversified city, while a predominantly white suburban neighborhood is immediately prioritized and favored when it comes to preventing these negative health risks and side effects speaks volumes to the racial hierarchies at play as well as the negligence, on the part of the state, to address their own racial discrimination when it comes to protecting the public’s …show more content…
As was defined by Bambra et al, “Health is political because its social determinants are amenable to political interventions and are thereby dependent on political action (or more usually, inaction)” (p. 187). Therefore, in other words, health is political because it does not solely depend on a medical diagnosis or medical contributions; it also largely depends on political actions and inactions that can either directly or indirectly affect the health and well being of the public. Moreover, the fact that health depends on social determinants that are amenable to political interventions, this can undoubtedly lead to disagreements and debates within the political arena as to what exactly constitutes social determinants for heath and