Terrific

[Content Note: Public safety violations.]

I don't even have words:

Water authorities across the US are systematically distorting water tests to downplay the amount of lead in samples, risking a dangerous spread of the toxic water crisis that has gripped Flint, documents seen by the Guardian show.

The controversial approach to water testing is so widespread that it occurs in "every major US city east of the Mississippi" according to an anonymous source with extensive knowledge of the lead and copper regulations. "By word of mouth, this has become the thing to do in the water industry. The logical conclusion is that millions of people's drinking water is potentially unsafe," he said.

Documents seen by the Guardian show that water boards in cities including Detroit and Philadelphia, as well as the state of Rhode Island, have distorted tests by using methods deemed misleading by the Environment Protection Agency.

...[Dr Yanna Lambrinidou, a Virginia Tech academic] warned that the issue of misleading test results was widespread. "There is no way that Flint is a one-off," she said. "There are many ways to game the system. In Flint, they went to test neighbourhoods where they knew didn't have a problem. You can also flush the water to get rid of the lead. If you flush it before sampling, the problem will go away."

"The EPA has completely turned its gaze away from this. There is no robust oversight here, the only oversight is from the people getting hurt. Families who get hurt, such as in Flint, are the overseers. It's an horrendous situation. The system is absolutely failing."

It's a libertarian wonderland. Every water drinker for hirself.