The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts agree that there is no amount of exposure to lead that is considered “safe.”
The effects of exposure to lead on the human body are well-known. Young children, especially those age six and under, are particularly susceptible to its effects — behavioral, cognitive and physical — which can be irreversible.
While most lead exposure in children is caused by contaminated paint, dust and dirt, it is generally accepted that about 20 percent of overall exposure results from contaminated drinking water. The presence of lead in drinking water has been a concern for decades. That fear was heightened recently because of the ongoing public health crisis caused by lead contamination in Flint, Michigan's drinking water that began in 2014.
|History of lead legislation & drinking water
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was enacted by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation's public drinking water supply. The 1986 amendments to the SDWA set specific standards limiting the concentration of lead in public water systems.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
