Many Illinois ZIP codes have been added to a state health department list that requires children be tested for lead exposure.
The Illinois Department of Public Health added 180 ZIP codes across 47 counties, roughly 13% of the state, to the list on July 1. Every Chicago ZIP code appears on the list.
Some of the newly added ZIP codes are in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
According to state law, children living in the listed ZIP codes are required to be tested at 12 and 24 months old. Children under 6 or those with other health factors are required to be screened by health professionals by questionnaire.
Lead is especially harmful to children with developing brains and can cause a number of serious health conditions in adults. Lead can damage the brain and nervous system, as well as cause slowed growth and developmental, behavioral and learning difficulties.
About 96% of the state is on the list, with the department hoping to expand mandatory testing statewide next year.
“There is no safe level of lead in the blood,” state health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “Early detection and intervention are critical tools to help protect Illinois’ kids from the serious health and developmental challenges caused from lead exposure.”
Filters rated to remove lead, labeled NSF/ANSI Standard 53, and particulates, labeled NSF/ANSI Standard 42, can help reduce exposure, according to the state health department. Boiling water does not remove lead. Residents can also get their water tested and clean their sink screens, among other preventive measures.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins and Stanford universities last year estimated 129,000 children in the city, or 68% of those ages 5 or younger, had lead in their home drinking water.
In Illinois, which has more than 11% of the nation’s lead service lines, people of color are up to twice as likely as white people to live in a community burdened by lead service lines, according to the Metropolitan Planning Council.
The Biden-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandated all water systems across the country begin replacing lead service lines by 2027. But Chicago is set to fall 30 years behind that timeline in replacing its 412,000 lead service lines — more than any other city in the country — according to the city’s replacement plan, submitted to the Illinois EPA in April and obtained by WBEZ through a public records request last month.
The city aims to complete 8,300 replacements annually for 50 years, wrapping up in 2076.
Contributing: Brett Chase, Keerti Gopal, WBEZ reporter Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco
