Monday, April 15, 2024

Ohio EPA’s latest test results from Sebring show 96 percent of homes under lead limits

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) recently released the results of further testing to determine lead levels in Sebring, Ohio, homes, which showed that 144 out of 150 home, or 96 percent, tested below federal limits.

When combined with the results of 409 previous tests of samples from Sebring homes, the Ohio EPA has found only 15 homes with lead levels above the federal allowable limit. Sebring’s testing efforts come after a Jan. 21 order from the Ohio EPA, which requires the city to test all homes whose owners request it. The city must also make all of the results from those tests public.

The Ohio EPA and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working with Sebring officials to adjust the chemistry of the city’s water treatment facility to prevent the corrosion that is causing lead to leach from the plumbing of older homes into resident’s drinking water. Tests of the water plant indicate that the water source and the plant itself are lead free.

In addition to the Ohio EPA’s testing requirements on the city, the agency is also requiring the city provide bottled water and filtration systems to homes found to be over the allowable limit for lead, as well as health screening for the community.