Standardization News

Nicholas D’Angelo Jr. is the 10th intern ASTM International has sponsored through the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE). As a part of the program, D’Angelo wrote a research paper, inspired by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, titled “An Aging Infrastructure: Policy Recommendations to Modernize Aging Water Distribution Network to Protect Human Health.”

D’Angelo’s paper discusses the irreversible health risks of exposure to contaminated water through lead-based pipes that have reached their 100-year lifespan. Excessive and harmful levels of lead across the country’s water sources have led to the poisoning of 12,000 children in Flint, Michigan, alone. 

In his paper, D’Angelo concludes: “Moving forward, it should be the role of the federal government to incentivize reinvestment into water distribution infrastructure in critical condition. Crafting regulations that are designed to promote regulatory synergy from the local, county, to state levels will prioritize this revitalization of our water supply.” D’Angelo notes that using the water cleanup procedures employed in Madison, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. as an example will help to create a clear set of policy recommendations in the future. 

ASTM’s committee on water (D19) develop standards that can be used by the public and private sector to test for a variety of contaminants, including test methods for lead in water (D3559).

Shown in photo above,  from left to right: Anthony Quinn, ASTM’s director of public policy and international trade; WISE intern Nicholas D’Angelo Jr.; and Jim Olshefsky, ASTM’s director of external relations.