The office of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, has launched an investigation of health concerns among public housing units and homeless shelters across the city. Cases of elevated blood lead levels and false claims from housing and shelter officials will fall under the scrutiny of federal prosecutors, the New York Times reports.
Over 30 troops will be on the ground by Friday to hand out water bottles, filters and testing kits to the homes of almost 100,000 residents.
This preventable issue can wreak permanent damage to a child's health and mental capabilities. It is also an issue that city authorities promised they would fix six years ago.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) warned state authorities that the water was unsafe as early as July 2015. However, officials didn't declare a state of emergency until October of this year.
