CHICAGO (AP) – Hundreds of Chicago residents have used free testing kits from the city to determine if their drinking water is contaminated by lead.
A Chicago Tribune analysis of the results found that lead was detected in nearly 70 percent of the almost 2,800 homes tested over the past two years.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits lead concentrations in bottled water to 5 parts per billion. Tap water in 30 percent of homes had lead concentrations above that limit.
Chicago required the use of lead service lines to connect street mains and homes until Congress prohibited the practice in 1986. The city’s plumbing code says individual property owners are responsible for maintaining service lines.
City and Environmental Protection Agency officials say residents should flush household plumbing for up to five minutes when water hasn’t been used for several hours.
