By WFMB/FarmWeeekNow.com

SPRINGFIELD – Until recently many wouldn’t have spent much time wondering about the safety of their drinking water. That discussion is now happening in many homes because of recent problems in Flint, Michigan.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said the ongoing crisis in Flint pushed him and others in the Senate to find a way to improve water systems. That’s the where he says the True LEADership Act can help by providing $70 billion for increased lead testing in water.

Dr. Peter Kiefer a SIU School of Medicine Pediatrician said there are three main ways to ingest lead – contact with contaminated soil, lead paint and water. According to him children are at the most risk for lead poisoning.

“Children are much more apt to pick up lead because they are closer to these sources of paint, crawling around the floor, eating things, putting things into their mouth,” Kiefer said.

Durbin said he wants a standard of testing and agreed upon levels of how much lead in one’s blood is an acceptable amount. He added the Department of Housing and Urban Development uses a standard above what the Centers for Disease Control recommends.

“We found people not necessarily in public housing units, but in housing that is subsidized – for example Section 8 housing – they are exposed to much higher levels that are acceptable through CDC standards,” Durbin said.

Durbin said that leaves individuals and children vulnerable.