Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Genocide Never Looked More Likely

A Michigan environmental official [Adam Rosenthal] suggested a technician collecting samples for a suburban Detroit private water system “bump ... out” a test result that found very high levels of lead by testing more homes, according to a 2008 email reviewed by the Guardian. Doing so could avert a “lead public notice”, the email reasoned, which would alert residents of dangerously high levels in their water.

  Guardian
Incredible.
The Chateaux Du Lac Condominiums, a homeowners association in Fenton, Michigan, operates on a private water system. Since its inception, records show, the association has struggled with high lead levels time and again. The system has exceeded federal lead action levels, set to trigger remediation efforts such as public education campaigns or expensive corrosion control, eight times over the past 20 years.

In early September 2008, a water laboratory technician collected samples from five of the nearly 45 homes in the association, the minimally required amount. The technician submitted the samples to the Michigan department of environmental quality for review. Of the five samples, one home registered a lead level of 115 parts per billion (ppb), nearly 10 times higher than the federal action level of 15ppb – and thereby put the Chateaux’s water system out of compliance.

[...]

Chateaux still had to publish a public lead notice in 2008, and documentation shows that only five tests were performed, including the high test discussed in the email exchange.
Apparently the technician wasn't willing to have blood on his (or her) hands.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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