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Current State of the Washington, D.C. Lead in Drinking Water Crisis
The January 27, 2009 Washington Post article reports on the ongoing issue of lead contamination in Washington D.C.’s drinking water. 42,000 children have potentially been exposed to unsafe levels of lead in their drinking water since 2001, according to a Virginia Tech/ Children's National Medical Center study by Marc Edwards, Simoni Triantafyllidou, and Dana Best published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The affected populations are located in the D.C. neighborhoods of Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, the southeastern portion of Capitol Hill, a large swath of Ward 4 along Georgia Avenue, and Northeast Washington's Langdon Park. These new findings shed light on an existing and ongoing problem with the integrity of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority’s (WASA) regulatory procedures.

History of the Crisis
Dr. Marc Edwards first noticed unsafe lead levels in Washington, D.C.’s drinking water in 2003. His study reveals that D.C.’s drinking water contained elevated lead levels from 2001 to 2003. WASA began disinfecting Washington D.C.’s drinking water with chloramine instead of chlorine in November 2000. The switch in disinfectant triggered the increase in the lead level of the city’s drinking water. Edwards’ findings contradict statements made by D.C. health officials. Since 2004, D.C. health officials have acknowledged that the city’s drinking water contained unsafe lead levels. However, they have regularly stated that they have found no evidence of negative health effects on the general public’s health.

Marc Edwards
Marc Edwards is the Charles Lunsford Professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech University; he teaches civil and environmental engineering. Dr. Edwards is an expert on water corrosion. In 2007, he was named a MacArthur Fellow for his vital role in exposing problems in water-delivery infrastructure in urban areas. Marc Edwards has written seventy peer-reviewed publications to date and is the recipient of many honors, including the H.P. Eddy Award from the Water Pollution Control Federation; a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow Career Award; and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Water Chemistry
Because of Dr. Edwards’ expertise in municipal water supplies, a group of concerned Washington, D.C. citizens contacted him to help find the cause of the lead in their drinking water. Dr. Edwards looked at many variables in the D.C. water system, including the chemicals being used to disinfect the water. Before November 2000, D.C. WASA was using chlorine to disinfect the city’s drinking water supply. Using chlorine as a disinfectant causes carcinogenic byproducts to form in the drinking water. Therefore, WASA has switched to using chloramine to disinfect the D.C. water supply. Chloramine produces less carcinogenic byproducts than chlorine because it is a weaker oxidizer. However, the use of chloramine can create a different problem. Chloramine reduces the water’s oxidation potential – this causes the lead scales on the interior of the pipes to dissolve into the drinking water.

Health Effects of Lead
Lead is a harmful and dangerous toxin. Lead poisoning can cause stunted growth, damage to the nervous system, learning disabilities, and anti-social behavior in children. Lead exposure poses the greatest risk to young children and fetuses. The negative effects of lead poisoning are irreversible and can last a lifetime.

Notes and references

 * Edwards, Marc, and Triantafyllidou, Simoni, and Best, Dana. “Elevated Blood Lead in Young Children Due to Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water: Washington, DC, 2001−2004.”, Environmental Science and Technology (January 27, 2009).


 * Leonnig, Carol D. “High Lead Levels Found in D.C. Kids”., Washington Post 27 January 2009.