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Lead

A Running sink.

Lead levels in Montreal water comparable to Flint

Health

A year long investigation has found that in places like Montreal, hundreds of thousands of residents may be exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water. Old pipes and a lack of testing regulations are in part to blame, said lead investigator Patti Sonntag of Concordia University.

Child drinking water

Newark, NJ, has a lead contamination problem in its water

Health
Army residences

US Army moving to address crisis over lead paint in base housing for children

Lead porch Reuters story

Childhood lead poisoning remains a widespread problem in America

Health
Sign pointing to a water distribution site in Flint, MI.

It’s been almost three years since Flint’s water crisis began. What have we learned?

Environment
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A "Water Pickup" sign points to a bottled water distribution center in Flint, Michigan in January. In an effort to save money, state officials running Flint's affairs implemented changes to the city's water system that resulted in widespread lead contamin

This is your brain on lead, and lots of other nasty pollutants

Environment

The water crisis gripping Flint, Michigan has exposed thousands of the city’s residents to dangerous lead levels. But Flint is hardly unique. Many other American cities have faced lead contamination in water supplies, and an expanding list of common substances, including some pesticides and flame retardants, may also be linked to significant developmental and neurological problems. Get the latest on this largely hidden crisis at a live forum from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, PRI’s The World and WGBH.

Lead in candy bags

Okay, kids: ‘L’ is for licorice — and also for lead

Health

An old candy bogeyman has reappeared just in time for Halloween: some candy manufacturers have been cited for having excess levels of lead, a powerful neurotoxin known to cause brain damage, in their licorice.

Scientists urge CDC to revise lead exposure level deemed safe in children

Environment

A panel of scientists are urging the U.S. government to cut dramatically the level of lead exposure that’s believed to be safe, after continued research suggested that even at levels considered safe, neurological damage was occurring.

Lead poisoning in developing countries

Health & Medicine

Lead batteries are becoming a deadly problem in developing countries where they are melted down and sold as scrap metal.

Lead and violent crime

Health & Medicine

New research reveals that lead exposure in early development shrinks key areas of the brain, and is linked with violent crime.

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Latest Episode

As Detroit Schools Shut Down Water Over Lead Concerns, Contamination Points to a National Crisis
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