Investigation: CDC misled public on health risks of lead in D.C. water

By The Post's Carol D. Leonnig:

The nation's premier public health agency knowingly used flawed data to claim that high lead levels in the District's drinking water did not pose a health risk to the public, a congressional investigation has found. But, investigators determined, the agency has not publicized its later internal research showing the problem did harm children and continues to endanger thousands of city residents.

A House investigative subcommittee concludes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made "scientifically indefensible" claims in 2004 that high lead in the water was not causing any noticeable harm to the health of city residents. The CDC hurriedly published its analysis though officials knew the research relied on incomplete and misleading blood test results that played down the health impact, the investigation found.

Continue reading this story >>>