Flint, The Sequel? High Lead Levels Plague Ohio Village

Flint was thrust into the national news this year over a lead contamination crisis that is taking a toll on public health. But the Michigan city is not alone. Sebring, OH, is facing similar struggles.

“It all started after levels of lead were found in seven homes tested [in January]. Tests showed lead levels at 21 parts per billion in some homes according to a spokeswoman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,” Fox 8 reported.

Schools closed in the Ohio village one day last month as officials moved forward with testing, according to The Washington Post.

“Children and pregnant women in Sebring — a village in Ohio’s Mahoning County, about 62 miles from Cleveland — have been advised to not drink local tap water, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is now working toward revoking the license of Jim Bates, the water treatment plant operator,” the report said.

By the middle of last week, health officials had already counted five children with high lead levels, the Associated Press reported. Officials said “that it's too early to know whether the positive tests are directly linked to the tap water in Sebring near Youngstown or if they could be tied to other sources such as lead paint.”

In an effort to curb the health issues, “a free clinic was open to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children ages six and younger who receive their water from the Village of Sebring Public Water System,” WKBN reported.

Just like in Flint, government officials have been slow to respond to health risk in Sebring.

“The public didn't learn about the contamination in Sebring until Jan. 21, months after officials of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Sebring public water system knew about it,” The Columbus Dispatch reported.

“EPA records show the agency knew as early as October that the water in some Sebring-area homes contained unsafe levels of lead. Some state legislators say the agency might have known as early as Aug. 21 — five months before the public was notified,” the report said.

Ohio Governor John Kasich says the Sebring situation is “not even comparable” to Flint, according to the Associated Press. He argued that Ohio officials responded quickly to the problem. Kasich is running in the Republican presidential primary.

“We’re on top of it and things are fine,” he said.

To read more about lead contamination, visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.