Lead Pipes Are Everywhere in Chicago. Here’s How to Protect Yourself

This story is a partnership between Inside Climate News , Grist , WBEZ and City Bureau .

Chicago residents risk daily lead exposure from toxic lead service lines, the underground pipes that connect buildings to the city’s water supply.

The city has the most lead service lines in the country —around 412,000—and officials don’t plan to finish replacing them all until 2076.

With complete lead service line replacement more than 50 years away, here’s what you need to know about lead and how you can protect yourself. • ICN Weekly Saturdays Our #1 newsletter delivers the week’s climate and energy news – our original stories and top headlines from around the web. Get ICN Weekly • Inside Clean Energy Thursdays Dan Gearino’s habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transforma