This article makes many good points. The water in teh US is safe. Flint is an unconscionable situation that should never have happened. The press and political hype, however, is harmful. They do have a serious water quality problem that would never have happened if they had worked to meet the drinking water regulation for corrosion control. I have not been able to fins data of extreme lead exposure. One report indicated that somewhere between 3 and 7% of child blood leads exceeded 5 ug/dl, the CDC reference level. No one seems to remember that in 1976-80 and probably for many more years, the AVERAGE child blood lead in the US was 16 ug/dl. It is now close to q ug/dl. CDC recommends that medical intervention be considered at 45 ug/dl. So, more balanced press and perspective would not have resulted in the mistaken public perception. Joe Cotruvo, Washington, DC

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This article makes many good points. The water in teh US is safe. Flint is an unconscionable situation that should never have happened. The press and political hype, however, is harmful. They do have a serious water quality problem that would never have happened if they had worked to meet the drinking water regulation for corrosion control. I have not been able to fins data of extreme lead exposure. One report indicated that somewhere between 3 and 7% of child blood leads exceeded 5 ug/dl, the CDC reference level. No one seems to remember that in 1976-80 and probably for many more years, the AVERAGE child blood lead in the US was 16 ug/dl. It is now close to q ug/dl. CDC recommends that medical intervention be considered at 45 ug/dl. So, more balanced press and perspective would not have resulted in the mistaken public perception.

Joe Cotruvo, Washington, DC

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