"U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) has told The Blade she is demanding more transparency from environmental regulators after inadvertently learning during a conference call Sunday that Toledo's tap water has been as high as 3 parts per billion for the toxin found in microcystis algae - three times higher than the World Health Organization standard of 1 ppb.

No data has been released to the public by the city of Toledo, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, or the U.S. EPA.

Sampling results from a specialized U.S. EPA laboratory in Cincinnati have not been released to the congressman by the federal agency. It has referred her to the Ohio EPA, which she said has likewise kept the numbers under wraps.

'In all of the meetings we've been in, we've been given nothing,' Miss Kaptur said. 'Every time I asked [the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] to provide information, they deferred to the Ohio EPA. We've not been given anything tangible.'"

Tom Henry reports for the Toledo Blade August 3,2014. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Toledo Water Ban Lifted But Test Results Kept Secret" (Climate Progress) [3]