Lead pipes and lead poisonings aren't problems we've solved. They're under streets across the country right now, and new evidence suggests the problem is significantly larger than official data ever indicated.

In this episode, environmental scientist Ally breaks down the full story of lead in American drinking water: the aging infrastructure nobody wants to pay to fix, the chemistry that keeps most of us safe and exactly what destroys it, and the cities across New York and the northeast with lead levels that should be making national headlines.

What we cover:

1. How East Coast water infrastructure came to be
2. The science inside lead pipes that most reporting gets wrong
3. What really happened in Flint — and the one detail nobody explains
4. New York cities with lead levels higher than Flint at its worst
5. A new study suggesting utilities manipulated lead reporting data5. What lead exposure does to children and adults
6. Five things you can do to protect yourself starting today

There is no safe level of lead exposure. But there are things you can do, and understanding the science is the first one.

• 🔗 EPA certified filter guide: https://www.epa.gov/water-research/consumer-tool-identifying-point-use-and-pitcher-filters-certified-reduce-lead
• 🔗 NRDC lead pipe interactive map: https://www.nrdc.org/resources/lead-pipes-are-widespread-and-used-every-state
• 🔗 NY lead service line map (NYLCVEF): https://nylcvef.org/lead-service-lines-in-new-york-state-interactive-map/
• 🔗 Syracuse lead service line map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f6f39da4d69b436584b174de9fddf2d8
• Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheAquaDiaryPodcast