D.C. Lead Issue Was Debated for Months

Yeah, the regional EPA office knew about lead in the water back in November 2002. They swear they sent an e-mail. (If the D.C. Department of Health got it, they didn't do anything to address the problem or alert the public.) The closest you'll get to an apology is:

"We were dealing with it as a compliance issue," acknowledged Jonathan Capacasa, director of water quality for EPA Region III. "In hindsight, we missed some opportunities . . . to engage earlier."

[...]

"In fairness, the best minds were trying to make the best decisions at the time," Capacasa said. "We're all working feverishly now to solve the problem and correct it."

Yeah, the buck stops sort of nowhere. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people have been drinking lead for the past several years. And not because it goes down smooth and easy.

Hey, here's an idea for the people at EPA, WASA, and D.C. Department of Health: DO YOUR MOTHERFUCKING JOBS. EPA: your job is ensuring our environment is not killing us. DOH: your job is protecting people's health. WASA: your job is making sure the water is not lethal and/or making us retarded. SO COULD YOU GUYS PLEASE MAYBE START DOING THAT? Thanks, that would be great.

Lazy-ass fuckers.