Lately I feel I have been living a dream. A dream where water fountains in schools are safe, family members do not steal from each other, government regulations are enacted to protect you, politicians are as honest as they proclaim and Bill Cosby is the ideal father figure. Boy, have I had a wakeup call – and so has our country.

Last month I heard on the news that Tacoma schools found lead in the drinking fountains. Seattle Public Utilities immediately said that there was nothing wrong with Seattle drinking water ‘but that all residents should run their water for two minutes before drinking it JUST IN CASE’ (emphasis added). It turns out that the ‘gooseneck’ fittings are corroding, where there are gooseneck fittings there is lead.

The TRUTH is, there are many opportunities for LEAD to enter your drinking water and each home/building is unique in its potential liabilities. Has anyone suggested that it may be in the publics self-interest to test their water at each faucet? NO, that would cost too much money and the public outcry when they found out how many of their faucets produced water with lead in it would be crazy. Politicians may lose their jobs! Let me ask, how many of you run your water 2 minutes before drinking it?

The TRUTH is, that in 1978 the EPA determined the Lead in the paint was extremely dangerous and made it illegal to sell (after 1978). But did anyone TELL the PUBLIC that every time you hammered a nail into the wall to hang a picture you were exposing yourself and your family to lead poisoning? (Remember even the smallest minute amount of dust with lead poisoning can cause permanent brain damage in children). NO, the government waited until 2010, 32 years, to regulate/protect the public from remodeling produced lead poisoning. Have you hung a picture up in your home in the last 32 years?

The TRUTH is that I do not believe anyone any more, and that is a very sad place to be. Truthfully, Christine