skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Another Flint? Ohio Community Faces Lead Contamination in Water

play audio
Play

Thursday, January 28, 2016   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio is again in the national spotlight for drinking-water contamination after unsafe levels of lead were discovered in a small community.

The situation in Sebring is similar to Flint, Michigan's current water crisis, where the public was uninformed for months about toxins detected in the drinking-water supply.

Attorney Albert Ettinger, who has worked for decades on water quality policy, explains the Safe Drinking Water Act requires testing of public water supplies. But he says when no one's watching, it's hard to know what actually happens.

"The public is taking for granted that everybody's doing their job," says Ettinger. "The data is supposed to be collected. It's just not always done, and we're not seeing the staffing and enforcement that's necessary to make sure it gets done."

The Ohio EPA is requesting a criminal investigation into Sebring's water superintendent, claiming he submitted falsified reports about high levels of lead discovered in some homes last year. Health officials say five children in Sebring tested positive for high levels of lead, although it's unknown at this point if the cases are directly linked to the water supply.

The city's water advisory could continue for six months to a year, and Jennifer Miller, director of the Sierra Club in Ohio, believes those safety concerns need to be taken seriously. She adds the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency needs to investigate how Sebring fell through the cracks, as well as ensuring that other communities are complying with the law.

"The stories in Flint and Sebring are heartbreaking and scary, and they should serve as a wake-up call for all of us," says Miller. "Clean water truly is the lifeblood of our economy and our qualify of life."

Ettinger says historically, drinking-water contamination is a major issue in cities around the country. But he contends the U.S. EPA has taken flack from Congress from coming down too hard on states.

"When anybody goes saying that U.S. EPA is over-regulating, that really should be taken with a grain of salt," says Ettinger. "When it comes to protecting children's health or anyone's health, I don't think we want to start berating U.S. EPA for coming down on states to make sure they do a good job."

There have been many concerns about drinking water contamination in Ohio in recent years, including toxins linked to an algal bloom in Lake Erie that shut down Toledo's water system in 2014 and bacteria found last summer in the Ohio River that threatened several water systems.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021