Hazardous Lead Paint Is Peeling Off Bridges, Tainting Water Near Baltimore
State officials warn that even brief exposure can be harmful to your health, especially for children. Their immediate focus is to stop the paint chips from spreading; plans to begin full lead abatement won't begin until next year, CBS News reported.
Lead paint is falling from six Baltimore-area bridges, contaminating waterways, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). ... "We are reviewing response plans from the city and SHA and will work with them to be sure they are taking action both short-term and long-term," a spokesperson for the MDE said. "This includes identifying bridges and surrounding areas with peeling lead paint and chips, taking action to prevent more chips from falling, and collecting fallen paint chips that can be a health hazard if ingested and can potentially pollute waterways." (Thompson and Foreback, 4/14)
More environmental health news from across the U.S. —
After Canadian wildfires brought extremely poor air quality to Detroit in the summers of 2023 and 2025, Michigan is updating how it communicates air quality risks to residents this year. The state is streamlining a system that has evolved with the emergence of severe smoke impacts. The state will issue an air quality alert anytime fine particulate matter or ozone levels climb into the federal Air Quality Index’s “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” or orange range, said Jim Haywood, senior meteorologist with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, Energy (EGLE). (Allnutt, 4/14)
Belinda Daniels panicked in 2018 when the pediatrician said her 1-year-old son, Jovanni, had lead in his body. The toxic metal could stunt his brain, the doctor told her, but catching it early meant she could prevent more damage. Daniels moved out of her Omaha, Nebraska, apartment that had chipping lead paint. The doctor continued testing Jovanni periodically while Daniels followed instructions on cleaning, handwashing and keeping Jovanni away from contaminated dirt. (Bowling, 4/15)
Tropical Storm Helene’s impact on western North Carolina was felt acutely in the days, weeks and months after the storm, including in the region’s hospitals and clinics. New research shows how pregnant patients and people with anxiety and other health issues turned to emergency departments for treatment when primary care practices were closed. (Atwater, 4/15)
In other state news —
The justices on Colorado’s highest court struggled Tuesday with questions about what happens when a state antidiscrimination law collides with federal threats against people the law protects. (Ingold, 4/15)
As Tennessee State Senators came to the floor on Monday afternoon, about two dozen activists formed a wall in the hallway, singing to the lawmakers. “Whether you’re cisgender “Whether you’re trans “Equal protection is the law of this land.” The group, led by the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), was there to protest Senate Bill 676, a proposed state law that will likely require doctors to report on transgender related healthcare, ahead of its near-final vote. (Taylor, 4/14)
It's been two months since the state dropped a suit against the federal government that was supposedly delaying the changes that would open health coverage to more than 42,000 children. Why? That's a mystery. (Pedersen, 4/14)
A new preliminary report from a state-funded research group identifies “key pressure points that need to be addressed” to fully implement Iryna’s Law, which passed quickly late last year. The report also outlines some initial recommendations for lawmakers to help address existing gaps in North Carolina’s mental health and criminal justice systems. (Crumpler, 4/14)
Massachusetts’ highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state’s lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. (Casey, 4/14)
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Rural Nebraska Dialysis Unit Closes Despite The State’s $219M In Rural Health Funding
The sun was just warming the horizon as Mark Pieper left his house near his cattle ranch on a crisp February morning. It’s not unusual for the rancher to wake up early to tend to livestock, but at 5:45 a.m. this day his cattle wouldn’t come first. For the past 3½ years, three days a week, Pieper has made an early-morning commute to get dialysis at the nearest hospital. (Zionts, 4/15)
Earlier this year, Naida Rutherford, the coroner in Richland County, South Carolina, was helping investigate what appeared to be a mysterious overdose. The case had many of the hallmarks of a typical fentanyl death. "Every sort of physical manifestation, like the foam coming from the mouth and nose, as if they had an overdose," Rutherford said. "Their blood tested negative for any substance, which was very odd." (Mann, 4/14)
San Francisco will pay $750,000 to a former city employee who says she was wrongly fired after she complained that her boss, the director of the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, likely threw out a human skull. San Francisco supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the settlement, resolving a lawsuit filed by Sonia Kominek-Adachi, a former autopsy technician, in 2024. (McFadden, 4/14)
New Haven, Connecticut's police chief, Karl Jacobson, resigned abruptly after his deputies saw red flags, including missing money. He has pleaded not guilty to embezzling city money to gamble on sports. (Meko, 4/14)
