In light of the Flint Water Crisis and its recent national news coverage, HBO’s John Oliver dedicated a large segment of his show, “Last Week Tonight” to the dangers of lead. Unlike the other media outlets surrounding lead in water, John Oliver focused on the danger of lead in the home. Many are not aware that lead dust is the most hazardous and the most common form of lead exposure. 2.1 million homes in the United States contain lead hazards that have not been addressed with a child under the age of 6 residing in it. Due to this, there are currently 535,000 children between the ages of 1-5 years old with elevated lead levels. This large figure only includes the children with elevated levels and not children that have been exposed but are considered low enough to not take preventative action. Any level of lead is unsafe and needs to be taken seriously.
Watch the full segment here and learn more about how best to protect yourself, your family and more specifically, your children.
