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People in Missouri and Kansas risk lead exposure from drinking water at greater rates than almost any other state, a new report has found.

The Natural Resources Defense Council released findings last week that as many as 12 million Americans may be receiving drinking water through lead pipes without realizing their water is contaminated.

“There is no safe level of lead, which causes irreversible harm to people’s health, particularly for children,” a release announcing the report says.

Missouri has the sixth most lead service lines, the pipes that carry water from water mains into residents’ homes, of any state in the U.S., putting it above the far more populous Texas. Only Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York and New Jersey have more lead pipes than Missouri.

Adjusted for its population, it has the fourth highest number of lead pipes per 100,000 residents. Kansas is third on that list.

“Drinking water won’t be safe until the country pulls the millions of lead pipes out of the ground found in every state,” said Erik D. Olson, the organization’s senior strategic director for health.

Lead pipes have been on the forefront of environmental concerns since Flint, Mich., switched its water supply and failed to adequately treat the water, which led to residents drinking water contaminated with lead.

The NRDC released the report as Congress considers President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal, which includes spending to replace every lead pipe in the country. The organization backed that proposal in its release.

“President Biden’s American Jobs Plan is a historic opportunity to fix the nation’s lead pipe crisis,” Olson said. “Removing lead pipes will improve health and create jobs, starting in low-income communities and communities of color with the highest rates of lead exposure.”

The NRDC estimates the United States has between 9.7 and 12.8 million lead pipes. The group estimates Kansas has 5,446 lead pipes per 100,000 residents. It estimates Missouri has 5,462.

Seven other states have more than 4,500 lead lines per 100,000 residents, all in the Great Plains and Upper Midwest. They are Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Minnesota. The District of Columbia is also in that top 10.

Children who are exposed to lead can suffer damage to their brains and nervous systems. Exposure is also linked to learning disabilities, shorter height, hearing loss and harm to their blood cells. Adults can develop cardiovascular diseases, and their reproductive systems and kidneys can be impacted.

— Allison Kite reports for Kansas Reflector.

IN LAWRENCE

Lead service lines were banned from being used in new U.S. plumbing systems in 1986, so any homes built after that likely do not have lead private lines, according to Lawrence Municipal Services & Operations Department spokesperson Josh Carson. Water service lines have both a publicly and privately owned portion. The public or city-owned portion runs from the city’s water main to the water meter, and the privately owned portion runs from the water meter to the home or building. Carson said the city has a good understanding of its water distribution system, including the material used for the public portion of the service line and will be testing both the public and private portion of the service line in accordance with revisions to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule.

Carson said the EPA revisions would likely go into effect in December, and the city plans to fully comply with the new guidelines. He said the city was developing a plan to better understand the materials used on the private side of the service lines and initiating a comprehensive update to its service line inventory, including verifying and improving city data on the public lines. He said the city would be transparent with that plan by publicly publishing the service line inventory upon completion as directed by the new regulations. Lawrence water customers who believe they may have lead service lines running from their water meter to their home should contact the Municipal Services & Operations Department at 785-832-7800 or MSO@lawrenceks.org.

— Rochelle Valverde, Lawrence Journal-World