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Take Note: The Legacy of Lead

  Lead poisoning may seem to be an issue of the past. But earlier this year, residents of Flint, Michigan were reminded just how common — and dangerous — lead still is. The city switched water supplies, causing the lead pipes to leach toxins into the water. Scores of children have been diagnosed with lead poisoning, which can cause developmental delays and medical complications. But Flint isn't the only city in the country that has lead infrastructure. 

Keystone Crossroads reporters have been covering the potential lead hazards in Pennsylvania, where lead paint is prevalent and lead pipes were once a requirement in some cities. Marielle Segarra talks with us about the history of lead and how the dangers were first discovered. Then, Irina Zhorov and Eleanor Klibanoff discuss the sources of lead in Pennsylvania cities. 

 

Eleanor Klibanoff was WPSU's reporter for Keystone Crossroads, a statewide reporting collaboration that covers the problems and solutions facing Pennsylvania's cities. Previously, Eleanor was a Kroc Fellow at NPR in DC. She worked on the global health blog and Weekend Edition, reported for the National desk and spent three months at member station KCUR in Kansas City. Before that, she covered abortion politics in Nicaragua and El Salvador, two of the seven countries in the world that completely ban the procedure. She's written for Atlanta Magazine, The Nicaragua Dispatch and Radio Free Europe.