Third Michigan City Has High Lead in Water
October 21, 2021
A third city in Michigan has been found to have high levels of lead in its water. The town of Hamtramck, in Detroit, joins Benton Harbor and Flint as the latest place to have dangerous drinking water.
Hamtramck, in the Detroit area, is a 2-square-mile (5.2-square-kilometer) city with 28,000 residents, many of them immigrants from Bangladesh, Yemen, and other countries.
More than 75% of kids tested in Michigan have detectable levels of lead in their blood.
According to the EPA, there is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Negative health effects of drinking water contaminated with lead can include behavioral issues, lower IQ, hyperactivity, slowed growth, anemia, cardiovascular effects, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems.