IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A local congresswoman is continuing to call on officials in Galesburg to replace lead service lines that have tainted the drinking water and contributed to high rates of childhood lead poisoning.
Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos said in a floor speech Wednesday that she is “deeply disturbed” by recent lead levels in Galesburg that were above the federal action level.
She said she is even more alarmed that 5 percent of Knox County children tested in 2014 had lead in their blood above the Illinois standard for public health intervention.
Bustos is responding to an investigation by The Associated Press, which found that Galesburg had one of the nation’s most enduring lead problems. The city’s water exceeded the federal lead-action level in 22 out of 30 sampling periods since 1992.
