After the lead contamination of Flint Michigan’s water supply, national attention to lead exposure from all sources heightened. Rates of elevated blood lead levels are high in Southeast Pennsylvania and especially in low-income Philadelphia Neighborhoods. Last year, nearly 2,700 children in Philadelphia were found to have harmful levels of lead in their blood. Known sources of lead exposure include peeling lead paint, lead service lines, lead in contaminated soils among others. In Philadelphia, Mayor Kenney assembled a special task force to address lead poisoning.
OMNIA, a podcast about all things related to Penn Arts & Sciences sat down with COEC Deputy Director Richard Pepino and Reto Gieré, Professor and Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, and Tabeen Hossain, student researcher, to discuss the lead issue in Philadelphia and how people can protect themselves.
Thanks to the Make a Difference in Diverse Communities Grant Reto Gieré and Richard Pepino lead a team of researchers and students, are educating communities about the dangers of lead poisoning, collecting important data and working with community partners.
Listen to the full podcast interview by OMNIA here: https://omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/omnia-podcast-reducing-lead-exposure-audio
