bookofjoe reports on a October 5 Washington Post story titled: Lead Levels in Water Misrepresented Across US. What the headline really means, however, is that lead levels are under-reported accross the US.
“The problems we know about are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Erik D. Olson of the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, “because utilities are gaming the system, states have often been willing to ignore long-standing violations and the EPA sits on the sidelines and refuses to crack down.”
I won’t be holding my breath waiting for the Bush administration to kick the EPA into action on this, considering he ordered the EPA to raise acceptable contaminant thresholds (a hand-out to mineral extraction industries that hurts water-drinkers everywhere) shortly after taking office in 2001.