EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — As Flint, Michigan continues to deal with lead contaminated water, local and state leaders in Connecticut are trying to make sure a similar crisis never happens in here.
Senator Chris Murphy met with advocates in East Hartford Saturday to talk about prevention. He supports new legislation that will more efficiently let the public know if there is a problem with drinking water. He says the Environmental Protection Agency should have let Flint residents know about the high lead levels sooner.
Lead poisoning is a common health problem for kids and can cause permanent nerve damage.
Senator Murphy says people here in Connecticut don’t have to worry about lead poisoning the same way that people in Flint do.
“We test kids every year in Connecticut for lead,” he said. “We would be able to pick up on something that was going wrong in a public water supply earlier than in Flint. Our problem in Connecticut is that our infrastructure, our pipes, are old and it’s expensive to replace them.”
Murphy says lead is still a threat in Connecticut, however. Though high levels of the metal are not found in drinking water, it could be in your walls if you have lead paint or fixtures.
