What about your water? If you have lead plumbing or pipes, and have not used your water for a few hours, turn on the cold water faucet and let the water run for a couple minutes to flush any lead particles out. Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Purchase and install a NSF-approved filter for removing lead from water used for drinking. Get your water tested by talking with your local water provider, or contacting a DEP-accredited lab for more information.
Our community still has work to do to decrease the risk for all children, but we are seeing improvement. More children are being tested (in 2009, over 10,000 children compared to nearly 14,000 children in 2015). While 3% of children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels in 2009, those numbers are now below 1% as of 2015. We can continue to see those numbers decrease through education and awareness, and ACHD is committed to being a partner with the community to help.
For more information visit https://www.achd.net/safehomes/index.html
(Karen Hacker is director, Allegheny County Health Department)
Helpful websites
Helpful websites with information about water quality and safety:
ACHD: www.achd.net/safehomes/drinking-water.html.
PWSA: https://pgh2o.com/
PA Department of Environmental Protection: www.dep.pa.gov/ Citizens/My-Water/PublicDrinkingWater/Pages/default.aspx
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