The Department of Justice has announced a general health and safety investigation for the New York City housing authority developments (NYCHA) this past week which has included an elevated blood levels probe for evidence among the residents of the area.
Lead levels to be investigated:
Over 400 thousand people live in the NYCHA buildings and there have been allegations that the housing isn’t entirely safe. The premises is also being scrutinized for making some unauthentic claims to the government related to the conditions.
The investigations aren’t new; they started back in November of last year when Preet Bharara from the office of the US attorney decided to start the investigation and put the demand forward to the department of mental and health hygiene. This demand was denied at the time. This past week, Deborah A Batts, a federal judge once again ordered the city to get the investigation started as it’s a matter that involves unsanitary, unsafe or unhealthful conditions.
Lead is a considerably harmful neurotoxin that can cause all sorts of health and cognitive effects to humans especially vulnerable young children. Since the Flint incident, the lead contamination has been brought to public attention and experts believe that the problem could in fact be nationwide.
The New Jersey Department of environmental protection could release a report soon that would indicate results of 250 samples of Newark City schools water that actually contain elevated lead levels.
With the ever increasing threat posed by the elevated lead levels, the country can face serious health related issues if steps like these are not taken with immediate effect. Let’s hope that things work out sooner rather than later and we can safely consume water in all parts of the country knowing that it doesn’t contain a harmful amount of lead.
