President Joe Biden’s administration is moving to require utilities to replace every toxic lead pipe connecting homes to water mains during the next decade, though Chicago and several other cities likely will get more time to finish the job.

       Ingesting tiny concentrations of lead can permanently damage the developing brains of children and contribute to heart disease, kidney failure and other health problems later in life. One study estimated more than 400,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are linked to lead exposure.

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       For decades dust from lead-based paint has been considered the chief source of exposure to the toxic metal. But in recent years the largely hidden threat of lead water pipes has become more widely understood, driven in part by federal research in Chicago and a crisis in Flint, Michigan, that showed how the simple act of drinking a glass of unfiltered tap water can pose significant health risks.