I need help with this please!
In 2014, the water source in Flint, MI was changed from treated Detroit water to water from the Flint
River. Over the last 100 year the Flint River was used as a waste disposal site for many industries and
the water received raw sewage from the city’s waste treatment plant. Later that year, high levels of
lead were found in water samples collected from homes in Flint. The high lead levels were due to the
corrosion of lead pipes. Along with high levels of lead, other toxins have been found in Flint water, such
as bacteria and elevated levels of cancer-causing chemicals.
a) Even low levels of lead can impair the brain development of young children. The “action level”
for lead in drinking water is 15 ppb (parts per billion). Eight water samples were tested over 100
ppb, with one some homes as high as 13,200 ppb. Please convert 13,200 ppb to grams of lead
per milliliter of water. 15 ppb mean 15.0g of lead per 1 L of water.
b) Over 10% of the children who were drinking this water had elevated levels of lead in their blood,
above 5 •10-6 grams of lead per 100 milliliters of blood. No lead should be found in the blood.
Please compare the blood levels than the water levels the children were drinking by putting
both values in the same units. What does this comparison tell you about how the body
processes lead?
c) An estimated 9,000 children were supplied with lead-contaminated water for 18 months. 76.8%
of these children were African American. Areas that were predominantly white has drinking
water with lower levels of toxins. A governor appointed civil rights commission says that
“historical, structural, and system racism combined with implicit bias” played a role in the water
crisis. You do not need to write anything for this question. Instead think what was written for a
few minutes and then discuss your thoughts with your group
a) To convert parts per billion (ppb) to grams per milliliter (g/mL), we need to multiply the ppb value by the density of lead.
Density of lead: 11.34 g/mL (approximate value)
13,200 ppb = 13,200 parts per billion
To convert ppb to g/mL, we use the following conversion factor:
1 g/mL = 1,000,000 ppb
Therefore, the conversion would be:
(13,200 ppb) x (1 g/mL / 1,000,000 ppb) = 0.0132 g/mL
So, 13,200 ppb is equivalent to 0.0132 grams of lead per milliliter of water.
b) To compare blood levels of lead and water levels, we need to convert the units to the same measurement.
Elevated lead levels in blood: 5 x 10^-6 grams per 100 milliliters (g/100 mL)
To convert g/100 mL to g/mL, we use the following conversion factor:
1 g/mL = 100 g/100 mL
Therefore, the conversion would be:
(5 x 10^-6 g/100 mL) x (1 g/mL / 100 g/100 mL) = 5 x 10^-8 g/mL
The comparison tells us that the body processes lead differently than water. The levels of lead in the blood of affected children are significantly lower than the levels of lead in the water they were drinking. This indicates that lead is not effectively absorbed or retained by the body, resulting in lower concentrations in the blood compared to the water they consumed.
c) In this part, no response is required, as it is stated to think and discuss thoughts with a group.
a) To convert parts per billion (ppb) to grams of lead per milliliter of water, we need to use conversion factors.
1 ppb means 1 part of lead per 1 billion parts of water. Therefore, to convert ppb to grams per milliliter (g/mL), we can use the following conversion:
1 ppb = 1 microgram (µg) of lead per 1 liter (L) of water
Since 15 ppb means 15.0 µg of lead per 1 L of water, we can set up a proportion to convert 13,200 ppb to grams of lead per milliliter of water:
15.0 µg / 1 L = x µg / 1 mL
Cross multiply and solve for x:
(15.0 µg)(1 mL) = (1 L)(x µg)
15.0 µg × 1 mL = x µg × 1 L
15.0 µg = x µg × 1
15.0 µg = x µg
Therefore, 13,200 ppb is equal to 15.0 µg of lead per milliliter of water.
b) To compare the blood levels of lead to the water levels, we need to convert both values to the same units. The given blood level is 5 • 10^(-6) grams of lead per 100 milliliters of blood.
To convert ppb to grams per milliliter (g/mL), we can use the conversion factor we established earlier: 1 ppb = 1 µg of lead per 1 L of water.
So, let's convert the blood level first:
5 • 10^(-6) grams / 100 mL
To convert the water level, we need to convert 15 ppb to grams per milliliter:
15 ppb = 15 µg / 1 L = 15 µg / 1000 mL = 0.015 µg / 1 mL
Now we can compare the two values:
5 • 10^(-6) grams / 100 mL and 0.015 µg / 1 mL
This comparison tells us that the blood levels of lead in the children were significantly higher than the levels found in the water they were drinking. It suggests that the body processes lead differently, and the lead from the water was absorbed and accumulated in the bloodstream at higher levels than what was present in the water itself.
c) To answer this question, you need to reflect on the information provided by the governor-appointed civil rights commission and consider the factors it mentioned, such as historical, structural, and systemic racism, as well as implicit bias. This suggests that the water crisis and the disproportionate impact on certain communities, particularly the African American community, may be influenced by factors related to race and bias. Take a few minutes to think about this information and then discuss your thoughts with your group.
a. Where did you come up with the factor of 15 g/L = 15 ppb? That isn't correct. The easy way to do this is 13,200 ppb Pb = 13.200 ug Pb/L = 0.0132 g Pb/L. Two very good conversions to memorize with ppm and ppb is
1 ppm = 1 mg/L
1 ppb = 1 ug/L
So 0.0132 g Pb/L is 0.0000132 g Pb/mL
From those two factor you can go to any unit you want.
I am betting that the funny symbol after the 15.0funny symbol is the problem. It just didn't print correctly At any rate, 15 ppb is 15 ug/L.
b. This question isn't worded very well AND it is a little confusing with the use of wrong language. The best I can understand is you want the Pb levels in a and the Pb levels in blood to be done in the same units. OK.
13,200 ppb Pb in the water samples. 5E-6 g Pb/100 mLin blood = 5 ug Pb/100 mL blood = 50 ug Pb/L in the blood = 50 ppb Pb in blood.