Another town may be having a lead crisis like Flint

“Elevated lead levels were noted by the EPA in November, but customers didn’t learn of the issues until Thursday, meaning that some people could have been drinking water containing lead for months”.

The EPA’s OH director, Craig Butler, has asked the federal EPA to open up a criminal investigation to figure out who exactly was responsible for letting the lead situation go unreported for so long, Fox8 reported recently.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) says Bates was “not properly performing his duties to protect public health and may have falsified reports”, the Vindicator writes.

Classes at Sebring Local Schools were canceled on Friday, Monday and Tuesday after high levels lead were found in the area’s water.

The Ohio EPA reports that water samples collected Sunday evening at three local schools near Sebring show that 121 of the 123 samples are below the federal allowable level, and those that were above the federal allowable level are contained to drinking water fountains, not the incoming water supply to the building.

There have been a plethora of apologies recently for the water crisis in Flint.

Water testing continues in Sebring to ensure the water treatment plant is healthy and has no detectable lead.

Tests showed that Sebring’s water had lead levels of 21 parts-per-billion, well over the EPA’s limit of 15 parts-per-billion, reports CNN.

The state sent 150 pallets of bottled water to Sebring, provided the Mahoning County Health Department with lead testing kits and will establish a screening clinic at an elementary school.

An Ohio EPA spokesman told CBS that the lead is not coming from the Mahoning River, Sebring’s water source. EPA officials say they are working with the village to make adjustments to its water system chemistry to minimize lead from leaching into the water from residential piping.

According to OEPA, Sebring will not be able to lift its drinking water advisory for pregnant women and children until they receive two rounds of successful sampling events in consecutive six-month periods. “The maintenance of water systems and wastewater systems is not just an urban problem, or a problem for places with low-income residents”.

A water treatment plant manager in OH is denying allegations that he falsified reports about high levels of lead and copper being detected in some homes last summer. Giroux issues a release stating that Bates has been placed on administrative leave.

Lead exposure is harmful to everyone, but it can have devastating impacts on young children by irreversibly harming brain development.