The US Lead Pipe Problem Has One Culprit: Stephen Mihm

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a ruling mandating the removal of all lead pipes supplying drinking water in the US. Whether the rule will survive the incoming Donald Trump administration is an open question — one that could have serious, even life-threatening implications for the more than nine million or so homes that get their water by “lead service lines.”

Given what we know about the dangers posed by lead-contaminated drinking water, it’s worth asking: What took so long? How is it possible that such large swaths of the US still rely on poisonous pipes?

The answer lies with a ...