EPA Tests Confirm , Filters Reduce Lead Levels , in Michigan City's Tap Water.
According to a study by state officials, the filters distributed to Benton Harbor, Michigan, to manage the city's recent lead water crisis are working properly.
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'SFGate' reports that the study was aimed at reassuring residents.
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The study came after residents of Benton Harbor, along with advocates, criticized the state's slow response to the city's lead-contaminated water.
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We found that properly operated filters were successful in reducing lead considerably and consistently, Tera Fong, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's water division regional director, via 'SFGate'.
However, the EPA also acknowledged that many of the filters were not being used properly.
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'SFGate' reports that the filters were distributed after tests revealed dangerously high levels of lead in the tap water of Benton Harbor in 2019.
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According to the EPA, all samples from nearly 200 homes with properly installed filters had levels of lead within federal guidelines.
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Exposure to lead can cause a number of health problems, including slowed cognitive development in young children.
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State officials said they would continue to distribute free bottled water until the city's lead water lines are replaced by the spring of 2023.
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State officials said they would continue to distribute free bottled water until the city's lead water lines are replaced by the spring of 2023.
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Marc A.
Edwards, a water treatment researcher at Virginia Tech, points out that relying on bottled water is expensive and inconvenient.
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Once communities get on to bottled water, it is a habit, and it is hard to get off.
, Marc A.
Edwards, water treatment researcher at Virginia Tech, via 'SFGate'
