Protesters tell water supplier to stop throwing money down the drain
Who: The Lead Pipe Coalition including the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, the Childhood Lead Action Project, Clean Water Action, the Mount Hope Learning Center, and the Mount Hope Community Baptist Church
What: Protestors will throw money down the drain of a mock sink to demonstrate Providence Water Supply Board’s wasting taxpayer dollars on dangerous partial lead pipe replacements
When: Wednesday September 8, 2010 2:00 p.m.
Where:
A coalition of residents and community-based organizations will protest at the headquarters of Providence Water Supply Board because the water supplier continues to conduct potentially hazardous partial replacements of lead drinking water pipes even though the R.I. Department of Health gave them permission to stop in April.
The partial replacements are a significant waste of money at a cost of at least $7.4 million per year with no clear evidence that it’s reducing lead in our drinking water – and the potential risk to increase the amount of lead. The coalition is urging the Providence Water Supply Board to do the job right and fully replace lead drinking water pipes.
Background
Partially replacing lead pipes and leaving lead water service lines to homes has been linked to increased lead levels in drinking water.
The Lead Pipe Coalition remains strongly opposed to the work continuing in neighborhoods throughout
The Providence Water Supply Board’s lead pipe replacement program began three years ago to address high levels of lead in local drinking water. Since then, concern has grown around new research indicating that partial lead service line replacements can cause increased lead levels in water instead of lowering them. Currently, contractors for the Providence Water Supply Board replace the portion of the service lines that the city is responsible for, instead of conducting full replacements. Lead service lines are the pipes that run from water mains to individual houses.
On April 30, the Department of Health authorized the Providence Water Supply Board to end this year’s replacement program because of the concerns raised about partial lead service line replacement. However, despite growing community opposition, the Providence Water Supply Board has continued this work.
Additional information:
· Providence Water Supply Board 2010 Lead Service Line Replacement Schedule http://www.provwater.com/lsr.htm
· Reaction to the Solution: Lead Exposure Following Partial Service Line Replacement. Rebecca Renner, Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2010. http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.118-a202
· Area’s Water-Pipe Replacement Work Put Off. Philip Marcello,
· CDC misled District residents about lead levels in water, House probe finds. Carol Leonnig,
· Consumer Fact Sheet on Lead in Drinking Water. US Environmental Protection Agency.http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/fs_consumer.html
Contact: Marcus Mitchell, Lead Pipe Coalition, 441-1134, [email protected]
Laura Brion, Childhood Lead Action Project, o: 785-1310 or c: 578-4491, [email protected])
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