|
|
|
State News Release |
Home | Press | State Press |
| Statehood Greens See Whitewash in Task Force on Lead in D.C. Water. |
|
THE D.C. STATEHOOD GREEN PARTY Friday, February 13, 2004 Contact: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com Panel named by Mayor Williams lacks consumer advocates and independent environmental and health experts, and will not investigate Water and Sewer Authority's failure to inform residents about lead contamination; Statehood Greens join the call for bottled water and filters for children and others at risk. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Members of the D.C. Statehood Green Party sharply criticized the 'Interagency Task Force on Lead in Water' established by the Mayor and Council to investigate the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) and its handling of lead contamination in the city's plumbing. WASA, thanks to a regulatory loophole, neglected to replace more than 1,200 lead service lines in 2003, possibly exposing thousands of D.C. residents to lead contamination, and failed to inform residents for a year after the agency knew about the risks of dangerous lead levels. "An effective investigative panel would include consumer advocates, representatives of environmental groups, and independent health, environmental, and legal experts," said party member Jenefer Ellingston. "Instead, Mayor Williams named a task force stacked with representatives of government agencies, including the Chair of WASA's Board of Directors. Furthermore, the task force is charged only with improving WASA general services and public relations, not with determining how WASA failed to protect D.C. residents from lead exposure." The February 10 mission statement of the Interagency Task Force on Lead in Water says nothing about investigating WASA's evasion of responsibility to ensure safe drinking water. "Instead of accountability, we got a new level of bureaucracy," said Ellingston. Statehood Green Party members are calling for emergency measures in accord with recommendations from Water for D.C. Kids <http://www.lobbyline.com/dcwater/>. "D.C. government has an urgent obligation to provide bottled water and filters for families with children, pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, and anyone else under a health risk right now -- especially those who can't afford filters," said Statehood Green Party member David Schwartzman, a professor in Howard University's Department of Biology who has published articles on lead pollution and human health. "The Marion Barry Administration, under pressure from ACT UP, offered tap filters to residents with HIV after evidence of contamination in the District's drinking water. Mayor Williams must act immediately to inform all D.C. residents of dangers they might face and take steps to ensure public health and safety, including emergency availability of lead-free bottled water followed up by NSF-certified filters and replacement of lead pipe service lines." MORE INFORMATION |
|
State News Release |
Home | Press | State Press |
