“Unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene are responsible for almost 4% of the global total in disability adjusted life years (DALYS) and almost 6% of the total attributable DALYs in high-mortality countries (WHO 2002).” In this scientific paper, I will discuss the neurological effects of lead contamination in public water through a series of case studies in the hopes of urging the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to place stricter regulation on the EPA in monitoring lead pollution of public and private water. Lead-contaminated water is a significant issue as it is related to neurological and psychological impairments such as learning disorders in children and violent tendencies in adults. Thus, it is imperative that the Senate Environment and Public Works committee introduce additional legislation to address this problem.
Published in Neuroscience, research by Tomas R. Guilarte, PhD and Kristie H. Stansfield, PhD calls …show more content…
The aforementioned violations include poor testing of water, inconsistent reporting to citizens, and ineffective treatment of polluted waters. The reason for these violations can be attributed to poor oversight as a number of EPA officials have been charged with using fraudulent test methods in order to not detect the high levels of lead in certain communities. In 2011, the CDC strengthened its standards of lead safety by lowering the allowable lead levels from 8 percent to 0.25 percent of total surface area inside piping through the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA). Even though there is no known “safe” level of lead contamination, official public health measure are enacted only when the saturation of lead in a child’s blood has reached the threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter or
Published in Neuroscience, research by Tomas R. Guilarte, PhD and Kristie H. Stansfield, PhD calls …show more content…
The aforementioned violations include poor testing of water, inconsistent reporting to citizens, and ineffective treatment of polluted waters. The reason for these violations can be attributed to poor oversight as a number of EPA officials have been charged with using fraudulent test methods in order to not detect the high levels of lead in certain communities. In 2011, the CDC strengthened its standards of lead safety by lowering the allowable lead levels from 8 percent to 0.25 percent of total surface area inside piping through the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act (RLDWA). Even though there is no known “safe” level of lead contamination, official public health measure are enacted only when the saturation of lead in a child’s blood has reached the threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter or