EPA staff slow to report health risks from lead-tainted Benton Harbor water, report states

Officials say health risks due to high lead levels in drinking water in a majority Black and impoverished Michigan city were not taken quickly to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leadership. The EPA Office of Inspector General said in a report Thursday that staff monitoring the state’s response to lead levels in Benton Harbor failed to elevate the issue to the city’s residents. An EPA policy encourages staff to do so. In October 2018, the state notified the Benton Harbor water system it had exceeded 15 parts per billion in water samples — the federal threshold for taking action.