"City Fails To Warn Chicagoans About Lead Risks In Tap Water"

"More than two years after federal researchers found high levels of lead in homes where water mains had been replaced or new meters installed, city officials still do little to caution Chicagoans about potential health risks posed by work that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is speeding up across the city.

In a peer-reviewed study, researchers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found alarming levels of the brain-damaging metal can flow out of household faucets for years after construction work disrupts service lines that connect buildings to the city's water system. Nearly 80 percent of the properties in Chicago are hooked up to service lines made of lead.

The study also found the city's testing protocols — based on federal rules — are likely to miss high concentrations of lead in drinking water."

Michael Hawthorne reports for the Chicago Tribune February 8, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

Letter: "Chicago Isn't The Next Flint" (Thomas H. Powers, commissioner, Chicago Department of Water Management)