Mike Pence Under Fire For 'New Flint' Lead Crisis

An Indiana lawmaker says a lead saga in his home state is as bad as the contamination crisis in Flint, MI.

While the contamination hasn’t affected drinking water in this case, it is a stark reminder of that emergency and how little things have changed in public health crises.

“More than 1,000 residents of a northwest Indiana public housing complex have been in a state of panic and uncertainty since authorities informed them last month that their homes must be destroyed because of serious lead contamination,” CBS News reported.

“A warning this summer not to allow children to play in the dirt and to wash toys because the soil is soaked with hazardous levels of lead and arsenic was the first many residents of the low income complex had heard about plans to remove tainted soil dating back to at least 2012,” the report said.

State Senator Lonnie Randolph said his office has received calls from terrified residents.

“Somebody dropped the ball somewhere,” he said, per the report. “Maybe it was intentional, or maybe by mistake. Maybe it was negligence.”

He said the situation “reaches the level — in my opinion at this time — of what occurred in Flint, Michigan, with the water crisis. They had a water crisis there —  looks like we might have a land crisis here.”

Just like in Flint, residents are questioning why state and federal officials did not provide better oversight. Residents are asking “why neither the state nor the U.S. EPA told them just how toxic their soil was much sooner, and a timeline is emerging that suggests a painfully slow government process of confronting the problem,” The New York Times reported.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence is fielding criticism for the problem as he campaigns as Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick.

“People in this heavily industrialized city just south of Chicago are also asking why [Pence] visited flood victims in Baton Rouge, La., this month while campaigning with Donald J. Trump, but has not found time to come to East Chicago. Kara Brooks, a spokeswoman for Mr. Pence, wrote in an email that he had ‘directed his staff and cabinet to provide support to the federal government’ there, and that some of his staff and cabinet members visited the area [in August],” The Times reported.

Barry Rooth, an attorney for the victims, says the lead crisis in Indiana is creating a “lost generation” of children in terms of cognitive fallout.

“Of the 474 children and adults screened as of August 24, 29 have preliminary test results above the Centers for Disease Control level of concern of 5 micrograms per deciliter, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Of those tested, 19 are children 7 and under. The health department notes that the majority, but not all of those tested, live in the West Calumet Complex,” CNN reported.