Syracuse Lead Levels Among the Highest Detected in Drinking Water for Decades; Higher than Flint and Newark

SYRACUSE, NY - Syracuse is facing a drinking water safety crisis, as city tests reveal lead levels are more than double levels found by independent experts in the infamous lead in water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan and significantly worse than those in Newark, New Jersey. Twelve concerned medical providers, residents, and national groups today sent a letterurging officials to declare a state of emergency in Syracuse based on the health harms threatened by the extraordinary levels of lead in the water. Their letter also pushed leaders to fully inform all Syracuse residents about the potential risks posed, and to take decisive actions to address lead in the city's tap water. There is no safe level of lead ingestion.

"Syracuse has one of the worst lead poisoning problems in the United States. Testing shows more than 9 percent of our children citywide have very high blood lead levels, and in some parts of the city nearly 1-in-5 kids are affected. All our children deserve a fair chance at the start of life, but daily too many of them face intersecting injuries, insults, and illnesses from childhood poverty, our local legacy of racist redlining practices, and involuntary poisoning from lead water and paint in unsafe rental homes," said Oceanna Fair, South Branch Leader with Syracuse-based Families for Lead Freedom Now. "After being assured for years our water is safe from lead, these results add insult to decades of injuries from insufficient government oversight. We need urgent action to get the word out, provide water filters immediately to the most vulnerable families, and protect our children from lead, wherever it is found."

More than 14,000 homes in Syracuse use lead water pipes and are likely to have high levels of lead at the tap. Syracuse's 70 parts per billion (ppb) level is far higher than the 27 ppb thatindependent testingfound in Flint and the57 ppb found in Newark, where EPA took emergency action due to the severity of the problem. (In Flint, neither independent testing nor that done by the city conformed with EPA testing rules, so the results were not fully representative.)

"The City of Syracuse's high lead levels in drinking water are especially concerning because they compound long-standing, data-driven community concerns about their children who are already overburdened with high levels of toxic lead from multiple sources," said Valerie Baron, senior attorney with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). "New York State officials must start addressing lead-contaminated drinking water as the urgent public health crisis it is, starting by informing Syracuse residents of the threat from their taps and taking swift, aggressive action to protect them."

According to the City's own data obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request, a number of homes tested in 2024 were found to have staggering levels of lead in drinking water. One home had 2,520 ppb; others were reported to have levels at 346 ppb; 225 ppb; 198 ppb. Compare these extraordinary concentrations of lead to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) lead action level of 15 ppb, recently reduced to 10 ppb effective in 2027 (and even these levels are, EPA admits, not health protective; the agency says only zero lead ingestion is safe).

The City publicly announced lead levels in 27 of approximately 100 homes tested in July 2024 exceeded the federal action level for lead set then at 15 ppb. Ten percent of homes sampled showed a level of 70 ppb or higher, more than four times the EPA's action level. Based on the testing regime, the 100 homes tested are representative of homes with lead service lines across the rest of the city. If 27 out of 100 homes tested above 15 ppb, it raises concerns that over a quarter of the thousands of homes lead water pipes are above 15 ppb and are likely to sporadically have high levels of lead.

Syracuse has the second-highest child poverty rate (45.9%) of larger cities in the United States. Communities of color, particularly in Black, Latino, and low-income neighborhoods, are far more likely to have water systems that violate the EPA's rulesmeant to reduce lead and other contaminants in drinking water. The EPA released a new Lead and Copper Improvements Rule on October 8, 2024. Among its improvementsis a requirement to replace every lead pipe nationwide in ten years and a new action level for lead from 15 ppb to 10 ppb (effective in 2027). The new rule also requires that water utilities complete an inventory of all their lead and other pipes; the first inventory report for Syracuse and other cities is due to their state officials on October 16. These inventories are supposed to be publicly available.

The health effects from any lead ingestion are well established. While it is toxic to everyone; fetuses, infants, and young children are at the greatest risk for the worst impacts of lead poisoningbecause their brains and bodies are rapidly developing and more easily absorb lead than do those of older children and adults. EPA and health experts have found that even low levels of lead in the body can interfere with thought processes and lower children's IQ and also cause attention and behavioral problems-all of which affect lifetime learning and earning potential. Adults are also at risk, particularly from cardiovascular disease due to lead ingestion. Other health effects include lower birth weights, premature mortality in adults from heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney or nervous system problems.

Actions That Citizens Demand of Syracuse and State Authorities

The letter details specific actions that the groups demand of Syracuse and New York State officials, including:

• Declare a state of emergency and fully inform Syracuse residents about health dangers of lead poisoning, especially vulnerable populations
• Provide point-of-use filters to people with lead service lines or other service lines that may contain lead
• Inform residents about how to get free blood lead testing
• Proactively notify residents that they have lead service lines and when it will be replaced
• Disclose detailed plans for complying with EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
• Explain what caused high lead levels, do outreach and public education, conduct additional monitoring, and replace lead pipes safely, equitably and efficiently
• Immediately fully publicly release all lead tap water sampling results including locations and levels tested for past 3 years
• Schedule a public meeting to discuss proposed local, state, and federal actions to address the crisis

The letter was submitted to the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County and New York State Health Departments, the Governor, and the State Attorney General; the U.S. EPA also was provided a copy. Groups set a deadline for a detailed reply including information and action steps by October 25; if no response is received, the groups may decide to seek emergency action from the EPA due to the "imminent and substantial endangerment posed to the health of persons served by the City of Syracuse's water system."

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).

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