Lead Contamination in the "Rust Belt": Chicagoland
Chicago and the surrounding areas have a total population of roughly 9.5 million people. Chicagoland, as it is commonly referred to, is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the United States.
(Chicagoland outlined in black. Source Vox)
Just like many other places, Chicagoland is seeing elevated lead levels in the water. This is worrisome because even low levels of lead can be detrimental to children and their development. Possible symptoms include developmental delays, learning difficulties, sluggishness, and problems concentrating. In adults, lead poisoning can relate to mood disorders, high blood pressure, problems with sperm counts, and increased risks of miscarriage.
Section 1: Chicago, IL
Within city limits, Chicago has a population of 2.7 million people, making it the 3rd largest city in the U.S. Founded in 1837, Chicago is like many other Midwestern cities, older with infrastructure that is becoming antiquated.
As someone who frequents Chicago, there seems to always be construction on I-94 and I-90. Making the roads safer and better is an important task and yet, like many places, corroded water lines have fallen on the "back burner." Safe drinking water should be as crucial a priority as pot-hole free highways, but clearly this is not the case.
According to a 2011 report released by the IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) 106,859 children were tested for lead poisoning in the city of Chicago. Of those children, 22.1% tested positive for lead with at least 5 µg/dL (5 micrograms per deciliter.)
With the majority of Chicago and Cook County being assessed a Level 10 by Vox's interactive lead exposure map, I would say the city has a lot of work to do. Vox, along with the Washington State Department of Health complied the interactive map from multiple sources of information. The numbers provided from Illinois specifically reflect children tested in 2011.
Section 2: Surrounding IL Counties
DuPage County is the 2nd most populous county in the IL section of Chicagoland with a population of roughly 916,000 people. Housing some if not all of the cities of Naperville, Elmhurst and Aurora's population, DuPage County is a huge portion of the Suburban sprawl of Chicago.
According to the 2011 report released by the State of Illinois, there were only 27 new cases of Lead poisoning in the county. Now this sounds great, but the state has not released a total number of children that have tested positive previously.
(Aurora, IL - Source VOX)
(Joliet, IL - Source VOX)
Lake County, IL is home to the cities Waukegan, and Gurnee. More known for the Gurnee Mills shopping mall and Six Flags Great America, Lake Co. is not exempt from its own lead issues. Even the area surrounding Great Lakes Navel Base has disturbing levels of lead contamination.
(Waukegan and surrounding areas. Source - VOX)
Section 3: Lake and Porter counties, Indiana
Lake County, Indiana is home to cities such as: Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Merrilville, and Crown Point. With a population of just under 500,000, Lake County is the second most populous county in Indiana.
( A portion of the 2012 Lead testing numbers from the Indiana State report. "Chicagoland" counties boxed in Yellow.
Source the 2012 ISDP Lead report )
The number Identified in the chart above were first time testing numbers in counties for the year of 2012. While those numbers show a low percentage of children testing positive, the lead risk map shows that water in places like Gary and Hammond is just a potentially hazardous as most of Chicago.
Others areas such as Crown Point and Merrillville have lower risk levels, and this may also explain lower testing numbers on a county wide basis.
Section 4: Kenosha Co, WI
As previously covered in "Lead Contamination in the "Rust Belt:" Wisconsin:
While Racine County is included in the Greater Milwaukee area, Kenosha County is actually concerted part of the Chicago Metro area, "Chicagoland".
Kenosha County is averaging roughly 4.5 children per 100 testing positive for lead. Children under 1 years old in Kenosha are actually testing higher than for lead than children in Milwaukee of the same age.
Section 5: Conclusion
Chicagoland is suffering from the same issue as many older places in the United States. Antiquated water supply lines that are or could be corroding, potentially leaching lead into our water and poising us slowly. In the State of Illinois lead poisoning numbers have fell since the 1990's, but that does not mean the problem is resolved.
Until we make a way to replace all of the corroded water supply lines, we can and will still be facing this problem.
(Article by Jaimes Campbell)
(Population totals from Wikipedia)
(Illinois lead testing numbers. Source Ill. Dept. of Public Health 2011 public report )
(Indiana lead testing numbers. Source In. Dept. of Public Health 2012 public report )