America Is Wrapped in Miles of Toxic Lead Cables

wsj.com

20 points·mfiguiere··6 comments

Of course we all know that no lead exposure is safe, but it's also important to consider the historical context: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2118631119

Leaded gasoline caused almost the entire population to be exposed to high amounts of lead (by today's standards). These wires pale in comparison and it might be worth asking whether this is the best place to focus our attention.

For example rather than replace all the cables, would more lives be saved and cities be better off spending that money on bike paths and other infrastructure to promote exercise? Probably.

I think there’s some nuance. Do all wires need to be removed right away? Probably not. Could doing so be combined with dig once or other burial work when utilities are put underground? Probably. Should some investigation and prioritization take place to confirm there is no immediate hazard to vulnerable populations (with lead contamination near where children could be exposed or groundwater contaminated remediated first). Probably.

Yes, but no.

The proposition isn’t doing X instead of Y.

Regardless of adding bike paths etc., this should be addressed.

This reminds me of Chicago water service lines. They were required to be lead till well into the 70s.. even though it was a known toxin.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/21/lead-contami...

https://archive.is/kkHN4

Now that the world is starting to transition to Globalization Minus, we can focus as a country on the great many problems that we turned a blind eye to in our own backyard.

We have a lot of problems that are hard but fixable. There's always room for more jobs. Americans are begging for leaders leaders with solutions and to inspire them into service.

The decade of American Self Loathing is over.

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