About 15,000 water lines might be leadALLENTOWN — The head of a county water authority says as many as 15,000 water lines serving homes in one eastern Pennsylvania city may be made of lead.Wednesday’s night’s announcement by the Lehigh County Authority comes weeks after tests showed more children in Allentown have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood than children in any other Pennsylvania city.The authority says none of the water mains or lines it owns outside Allentown are made of lead.The authority took control of Allentown’s water system three years ago. Officials are sure there are 5,000 lead service lines and say another 10,000 may be lead, but they can’t be sure.It will cost about $1,500 to replace each lead line, or about $23 million if all 15,000 lines are lead.

About 85M air bags may need replacedDETROIT — About 85 million Takata air bag inflators that haven’t been recalled are inside cars and trucks now being driven in the U.S. and would have to be replaced if the company can’t prove they are safe, the government said Wednesday.The number would be in addition to the 28.8 million inflators already slated for replacement in what has become the largest automotive recall in the nation’s history. If all the inflators are recalled, they would total almost 114 million. A recall that massive would take years to complete and cost Takata billions of dollars.Unlike most air bag makers, Takata’s inflators use the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that fills air bags in a crash. But the chemical can burn too fast and explode with too much force. At least 11 people have died worldwide and over 100 have been hurt.The problem has been linked to older cars with long-term exposure to high humidity. That’s why replacement parts are being targeted to areas such as the U.S. Gulf Coast.