Reading through a new study for the first time, Chakena Perry said what researchers at John Hopkins University found was truly concerning involving the drinking water in Chicago and young children.
“It’s alarming it should strike a sense of urgency among our elected officials to see that young children are exposed,” said Perry.
Perry works on water quality related issues in Chicago and serves as a policy advocate for the National Resources Defense Council.
“I think people should be able to trust what comes out of their tap and unfortunately a lot of people don’t have that luxury,” she said.
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According to the study, researchers found nearly 70% of children under six are exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water in Chicago, or about 129,000 children. Researchers also found racial disparities indicating Black and Brown neighborhoods had lower rates of lead testing and higher odds of exposure.
“I think one misconception is that there’s this idea that maybe there’s a safe level of lead or an unsafe,” said Benjamin Huynh, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health and Engineering at John Hopkins University. “But there’s really know 'yes-no,' it’s more of a sliding scale.”
Huynh is one of the researchers involved in the study.
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“We found in the data that about 20% of people in the city are using bottled water as their main source of drinking water,” he said. “I think that’s something that speaks to level of distrust in the water supply.”
Researchers with help from Artificial Intelligence said they based their analysis on tap water test results on 38,000 homes. The city conducted those tests from 2016 to 2023. Results also show that 19% of exposed children used unfiltered tap water for drinking.
“We’re estimating that the level in their blood is about twice as much as it would be if they hadn’t been drinking that water,” he said. “Now that’s not to say that this is an emergency these aren’t extremely high numbers for the most part.”
The city of Chicago reassuring the public the water is safe to drink and that its meeting and exceeding standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A spokesperson released a statement saying in part, “Nothing is more important than the health and safety of Chicago’s residents and, particularly, our children. The Department of Public Health and Water Management will continue working together to identify and remediate all sources of lead from Chicago homes.”
“Not only is the present of lead pipes a public health crisis it’s also an environmental justice issue,” said Perry. “It should be treated as such with a sense of urgency.”
The city said it introduced five programs to remove 400,000 lead service lines at no cost and offers free water testing to any residents.
Click here to learn more about the programs.
