The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it will spend $3 billion to help states and territories identify and replace lead water pipes.

“The science is clear, there is no safe level of lead exposure, and the primary source of harmful exposure in drinking water is through lead pipes,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said, announcing the funding Thursday in an agency news release.

Lead poses serious health risks and can cause irreversible brain damage in children.

The funding announced Thursday is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021. It sets aside $15 billion overall to identify and replace lead pipes.

  • @danekrae
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    848 months ago

    That is some of the best news for america in a very long time. Many people won’t realize this though, you know, because of the lead…

    • @venusaur
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      48 months ago

      What are they replacing them with?

      • @Gigasser
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        118 months ago

        I’m guessing either copper, PVC, or CPVC. The worry about PVC and CPVC is micro plastics, but I think that lead is probably more harmful then micro plastics anyway.

        • @venusaur
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          58 months ago

          For sure. Copper is expensive. I imagine they’ll go with plastics.

          • @Gigasser
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            28 months ago

            There’s always the possibility that they’ll do a mix of everything depending on environment, though I’m not sure if there are environments where plastics pipes may potentially degrade faster than copper or vice versa.

            • @venusaur
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              18 months ago

              That’s true. I guess time to invest in copper and plastic? Haha

        • @venusaur
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          28 months ago

          Damn. I was hoping e85.

      • @[email protected]
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        fedilink
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        98 months ago

        So are you just one guy with a lot of time and accounts to use, or is this like, a group of people working to make these low effort bait posts? I realize that might come across as dismissive, but I’m genuinely interested. Let’s chat!

        • @baru
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          38 months ago

          The person’s unwritten argument is to get rid of lead in pipes.