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No One Has the Data to Prevent the Next Flint

Lapowsky, Issie
http://www.wired.com/story/data-lead-poisoning-flint/

Publisher:  Wired
Date Written:  23/06/2017
Year Published:  2017  
Resource Type:  Article

Data gaps in testing and regulations of water safety in America can potentially put many citizens at risk.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

The EPA stores much of this data on water contamination, but the Center for Disease Control measures the damage already inflicted on those living with lead in their water. The data there are even patchier. The CDC compiles data on blood lead levels, collected from children 1 through 5 by pediatricians nationwide because lead is most damaging in children. But nothing requires states to report that data, which explains why so much of it is outdated. Several states report no data at all.

"You're talking about only 25 to 30 states that consistently report blood lead levels. And poor and rural people who don’t go to the doctor are less likely to be reported," says Feigl-Ding. "By the time kids have elevated lead levels, gosh, it's almost too late."

Feigl-Deng created ToxinAlert.org to be a central repository of crowdsourced data about lead and other water contaminants. It aggregates data from the EPA and the US Geological Survey, which measures toxins in groundwater, and adds data from states and independent researchers. The portal allows anyone to order a test and have the results logged on its national risk map.
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