news

bro the EPA is not going to exist in 10 years what do you mean be so for real rn

it took them like 6-ish years to replace most of the pipes i flint, MI.

10 years for the entire US? yeah sure.

Branch's son Aidan suffered from lead poisoning while they were living in a home with lead in the paint, windows, pipes and soil. Her son's lead levels were so high they had to move out of the home and into a homeless shelter for almost three months while they searched for safe housing. Branch said the experience was terrifying for her son and left him with health issues he will have to face for the rest of his life.

We live in a insane world. In a just society this wouldn't have happened in the first place. Removing lead from homes and the water supply should have been a government initiative the second an alternative was available.

Even still, the idea that they had to live in a shelter for 3 months because their landlord couldn't be bothered to remove the lead in the rental is just another example of the vial and callous nature of landlords.

The Branch's live in a lead paint free home now, but they still have lead pipes.

"When I first started advocating there was a 50 year plan that went down to a 40 year plan, now there is a nine year plan to remove all the lead pipes in Milwaukee, Branch tells CBS News. "I should be alive to see the lead pipes being removed out of Milwaukee and that gives me hope for other places as well."

There is still more the Milwaukee community needs to live in a lead-free safe environment: more housing and more clinics.

Branch says there is not enough safe housing available in the community. Her old home where her son was lead poisoned was still being rented out as recently as a few years ago according to Branch. As for the Next Door Pediatrics Clinic where her son was first tested for lead positioning, it has since shut down, creating a healthcare gap in the community. Branch credits the work of the clinic for her youngest daughter being lead free.

Again no justice. The landlord wasn't forced to remove the lead from the house, and the local clinic that could diagnose these exposures was shuttered thanks to treating our public services like market services, subject to becoming insolvent and closing, leaving the community in a healthcare shortage. I guess the community should have been sick more often in order to keep the profits high enough to maintain the clinic.

There is a sense of shame for parents whose children suffered from lead poisoning, but Branch wants to remove the shame from the equation of asking for help.

"I want them to know it's not on you," says Branch. "We're not receiving justice, And it's a human right to have clean drinking water."

Personal shame is the default and expected emotion for our collective failings. You should have checked the house for lead. You put your child in danger due to your negligence. You are in charge of keeping your family safe, and no one else!

This is a manifestation of our hyper-individualist culture in one of its many twisted forms. Only you can prevent your family from getting lead poising!

"Yeah, I got like 10 Ukrainian dudes with a yacht. They should be able to take care of it within 2-3 years."

Alternatively:

"Yup we're gonna rip them all out!"

"And then replace them with something safe, right?"

"Well, after they're out we're gonna...anyway..."

What happens after those 10 years?

Still waiting for him to cure cancer, like he promised

Wait, they still have lead pipelines in the US??! In 2024?!?

Next you're going to tell me they still haven't removed all the asbestos from homes yet too

biden trying to milk the one bill he's passed like ever for 10 separate "wins" over the course of his term is pretty funny. Except none of this is exciting at all it's just shit that should have been done decades ago having some money thrown at them to be soaked up by the sponge of private contractors and continue to remain an intractable problem

As this is relevant to my job, here's the score:

This process has been coming for a few years now.

Some old houses had small sections of their "service line"- the pipe between the main and the internal plumbing of the house - made of lead. The amount of lead that leaches into the water depends on the chemistry (the Langelier Index) and the contact time. There is currently a requirement for regular testing to see if water that sits for 8+ hours leaches enough lead (& copper) to be dangerous if someone drinks it for 20 years.

The difficulty of replacement is that records from before the 60s are spotty and may not note the material of the line. This will require potholing in front of every house to try to determine the material.

My town was already planning this out, and was starting to get prices from contractors.

We need to replace those lead pipes with esbestos pipes

Wait this wasn't already a thing

How was this not already a thing

It's just parody at this point.

Funny that he is saying this at the height of his lead addled brain decline.

Local Dems have been ignoring the rotting lead pipes in the poorer, black neighborhoods. It took the commies harassing them for months to see any marginal changes.

A good joke answer would be that this is a massive pipe-gathering scheme by the construction lobby to sell it all off.

This is the same shit that Obama did for Flint.

Drank some water then got the fuck out of there, did nothing

Then we're going to see Kamala or Dump later reject this bill, during the next presidency, for its 'unsustainability'.

All as goes as planned...

looking forward to the commondreams article glazing him for this

It's hard not to think of the lead pipe theme from Boonta Vista

Holy not in any hurry, Batman!

You can have clean water as a little treat