How Cost-Cutting May Have Led To Pittsburgh's High Lead Levels

Pittsburgh’s water is failing EPA standards for lead. At least one local official has called it a "public health crisis." The reason why lead levels are over the limit is still unclear.

The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier (@reidfrazier) reports that most observers agree one key decision played a role: the change to a cheaper, less effective chemical to keep lead out of water.

This story is part of a public media collaboration, Hidden Poison, looking at Pittsburgh's lead problem produced by WESA, The Allegheny Front, PublicSource and Keystone Crossroads.