US EditionEPA slow to report health risks to Michigan city's lead-tainted water supply: report
- The EPA Office of Inspector General reported that the health risks from high lead levels in drinking water in Benton Harbor, a majority Black and impoverished city in Michigan, were not quickly elevated to EPA leadership. The report stated that staff failed to raise the issue to the city's residents despite meeting criteria for policy elevation.
- In October 2018, the state notified Benton Harbor about the high lead levels in their water, but the levels remained elevated. Activists later increased pressure for action in 2021, leading to promises from state officials to remove lead pipes and provide bottled water to residents. The EPA's 2016 Policy on Elevation of Critical Public Health Issues was created in response to the Flint water crisis.
- Benton Harbor, with predominantly Black residents and a low median household income, has an aging water distribution network. Lead levels have since dropped below the action level, and most of the lead pipes have been replaced with the help of state and federal funds.
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18 Articles
EPA staff slow to report health risks from lead-tainted Benton Harbor water, report states
The EPA Office of Inspector General said staff monitoring the state’s response to lead levels and compliance in Benton Harbor failed to “elevate” the issue of health risks to the city’s residents, per an EPA policy that encourages staff to do so.
EPA slow to report health risks to Michigan city's lead-tainted water supply: report
Environmental Protection Agency staff failed to adequately "elevate" health risks posed by Benton Harbor, Michigan's lead-tainted water supply, a report released Thursday found.
Watchdog says EPA did not properly elevate Benton Harbor crisis
CHICAGO, IL — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff failed to properly elevate the bourgeoning lead-tainted tap water crisis in Benton Harbor by alerting top officials under a policy developed in the wake of the Flint lead crisis, an inspector general audit has concluded.
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