Brown Applauds EPA’s New Microcystin Health Advisory to Help Ensure Safe Drinking Water

Brown’s Safe and Secure Drinking Water Act Called for an EPA Health Advisory

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 6, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Following the water crisis which disrupted the water supply of approximately 500,000 people in Northwest Ohio in early August, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today applauded news that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a health advisory laying out guidelines for effective monitoring of and treatment of microcystin. Brown’s Safe and Secure Drinking Water Act, which he reintroduced with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) in February, called for the EPA to publish a health advisory to help inform and educate local and state officials.

“Ohioans deserve to know that the water they and their children are drinking is safe,” Brown said. “This health advisory will help guide local communities so they can better protect the health of Ohio families.”

Microcystin is a toxin produced by harmful algal blooms in freshwater bodies, exposure to which can harm the skin, liver, kidney, and nervous system. The EPA’s health advisory establishes guidelines to help communities determine whether microcystin is present in the water supply and recommends an affordable treatment option plan. EPA’s suggested restriction on microcystin levels is more protective of human health than the existing World Health Organization (WHO) exposure standard.

Brown continues to fight to secure clean drinking water for Ohioans and to protect Lake Erie. In February, Brown announced the introduction of the Great Lakes Ecological and Economic Protection Act (GLEEPA), bipartisan legislation that would formally authorizing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to protect the Great Lakes from a variety of ecological threats and invasive species like harmful algal blooms and Asian carp.

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