In the coming years, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to replace all of the lead pipes in the country. This ambitious goal is being driven by a cost-benefit analysis conducted by Ronnie Levin in 2023, which compared the costs of issues related to lead exposure with the cost of mitigating lead. The EPA estimated that the annual health benefits of this rule would be $645 million, with an implementation cost of $335 million, resulting in a benefit-to-cost ratio of 2 to 1.
However, Levin and her collaborator Joel Schwartz discovered that mitigating lead in American water could save over $8 billion per year in health benefits and at least $2 billion more in infrastructure costs, resulting in a benefit-to-cost ratio of 35 to 1. This new analysis relied on data from previous studies and government reports, making it difficult for anyone to dispute its findings.
Levin is an instructor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s department of environmental health and has been advocating for lead mitigation throughout her career. She was surprised by the EPA’s agreement to such an ambitious goal but believes that the Biden Administration’s interest in lead has also played a role in speeding up the process of change. Her work on lead dates back to the 1980s when she conducted a cost-benefit analysis that revealed a significant portion of Americans were consuming unsafe levels of lead in their water. This led to a 1991 rule aimed at reducing the amount of lead and copper in drinking water, and Levin’s efforts have been instrumental in pushing for change on this issue.
While she is excited about this new rule, Levin emphasizes that effective implementation and enforcement are crucial for ensuring its success. She believes that public education campaigns will be essential for raising awareness about lead exposure and encouraging people to take action to protect themselves and their families from its dangers.
