Another town gripped by fear over lead-tainted tap water

Residents in the OH town of Sebring fear they may the next Flint, after officials launched a criminal investigation after elevated levels of lead and copper were found in local tap water.

As a result of the findings, schools were closed Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. The state agency says it has “reason to suspect that the operator falsified reports“, and has asked the U.S. EPA to conduct a criminal investigation.

State records show that a water plant manager under scrutiny over high lead levels in northeastern OH violated numerous state rules regarding plant operations in past years.

The Ohio EPA also released documents showing that it had asked Bates for months when he would take public action to solve the lead problem.

While there have been no reports of lead contamination in the Tri-State, concerned residents have the ability to track their water quality and test at home.

Lead poisoning has struck again, this time in Sebring, Ohio, according to the state environmental protection agency.

Test results released Tuesday by the Ohio EPA show that 121 of 123 water samples taken at locations across the Sebring School District are below the federal government’s allowable lead levels.

“A lot of us have kids at home, and we’re extremely afraid, and we need a mayor to stand up, be honest with us, hold people accountable and fix this problem”, said one man in attendance.

Sebring and West Branch School officials announced on Tuesday that classes will resume on Wednesday. Many researchers say that no amount is safe for youngsters. On Sunday, both children and pregnant women in Sebring had their blood tested for high lead levels.

Griesmer further said in the statement that after learning of the village’s failure to properly notify its customers and its repeated failure to provide timely and accurate information to the department’s field office, Director Butler issued a notice of violation to the village on January 21, requiring that they tell their customers immediately. Instead the chemical composition of outgoing water caused some residents’ pipes to leach the heavy metal into their water supply.

In Flint, high blood levels of lead have been found in children in the mostly poor, black Rust Belt city of 100,000, where the crisis has led to allegations of environmental racism.

Mark Hughes, who owns a diner and three rental homes in Sebring, a predominantly white, middle-class community of mostly older, neatly kept homes, said the village has a moral obligation to tell people what’s going on with their water.

“It’s a witch hunt right now, I just want some good answers, I want to know the truth, I want to know if somebody did know about this”, he said.