Integrating Equity into Lead Service Line Replacements

As the U.S. braces itself for years or decades of lead service line replacements, 重要的是要评估为什么这些替换是重要的，谁是受影响最大的.

使用铅管线(LSLs)供应饮用水可以追溯到几千年前——从古罗马时代开始——在美国一直持续到20世纪80年代末.S. As required under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions在美国，公共供水系统现在正承担着在全美范围内识别LSLs的重要工作.S. with the ultimate goal of removing them all. 铅是一种神经毒素，不仅对儿童，而且对孕妇和有潜在健康问题的成年人都有不利的健康影响. There is no safe level of lead exposure for anyone.

Due to the federal ban in the late 1980s, LSLs are more commonly found in older homes that may also have lead paint. 对于许多社区来说，在整个社区的旧开发项目中居住的人受到铅的不成比例的影响是很常见的. 通常，这些人无法获得与社区其他人相同的资源. It is essential to recognize these disparate impacts and barriers when developing, 规划和实施LSL替代计划，使社区成员公平受益, regardless of income, race or ethnicity.

To help communities navigate these equity considerations, the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative recently developed a step-by-step Guide to Equity Analysis that is freely and publicly available online. 该指南提供了一些问题和资源，社区可以利用这些问题和资源来帮助提高其LSL替代品的公平性, like overlaying their LSL inventories with data related to demographics, 经济状况或发展模式，以确定可以从快速行动或资金支持中受益的家庭或社区.

我很荣幸能成为制定本指南的成员之一，因为在LSL替换计划中公平考虑的重要性怎么强调都不为过. At Jacobs, we’re supporting communities across the U.S. 他们的铅和铜法规合规项目，我们正在帮助他们将公平考虑放在首位. For example, we’re supporting Salt Lake City Public Utilities Commission with a program that prioritizes early action in disadvantaged communities.

The hard work to identify and replace every LSL in the U.S. is now under way and we all have a role to play. 协作将是实现消除铅接触和保护我们社区中每个人健康的公平解决方案的关键.