Drinking Through a Toxic Straw: Identifying the Socioeconomic Indicators and Regulatory Flaws Characterizing Tap Water Lead in New Jersey

Abstract

The risks posed by Lead (Pb), a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic heavy metal, to individuals through drinking water garnered increased attention in response to the contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan (beginning 2014). High tap water lead levels have since been discovered nationwide, including notably high ones in Newark, New Jersey. While the damaging health effects of this neurotoxin are somewhat well established, a need still exists to understand who is most exposed to drinking water lead and how effective our regulatory schemes have been in addressing the harm. With New Jersey as our state of focus in this study, we conducted correlative analyses between socioeconomic factors and lead levels to uncover who in the state is disproportionately experiencing exposure. We also performed a statistical examination of how appropriately the Lead and Copper Rule’s 90th percentile lead action level guards individuals’ health. Results revealed that higher levels of lead are well correlated with lower educational attainment, poverty, minority status, and older homes across NJ communities, particularly in Essex County (which is home to Newark). Our second analysis demonstrated that, in most New Jersey counties, the 90th percentile lead action level falls short of adequately informing individuals of their risk to high lead levels relative to their neighbors. Our findings lend themselves to directing policymakers and health officials to prioritize remedying environmental justice concerns and adopting a more individualized approach to remediating tap water lead accounting for known vulnerability, existing exposure, and lack of resources to remediate the problem on one’s own.