U.S. Water News Online
ST. LOUIS, Mich. -- A federal lawsuit filed by inmates at the St. Louis and Mid-Michigan correctional facilities claims they were forced to drink water contaminated with a byproduct of the banned pesticide DDT.
The lawsuit filed in March in U.S. District Court in Bay City also claims overcrowded conditions, a lack of medical care, a lack of an adequate number of prison personnel and dangerous noise levels.
The inmates are asking for bottled water instead, the Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant reported.
"So the inmates are forced to drink it, not only that, but their food is prepared in it," the documents state.
Suits filed by prison inmates against the warden, the Michigan Department of Corrections, its director, staff and others are common, said Blaine Lafler, warden at the St. Louis and Mid-Michigan facilities.
Neither Lafler nor Leo Lalonde, a Corrections Department spokesman, said they could comment on the case.
Last fall, it was announced that a byproduct of DDT was found in the St. Louis drinking water. At the recommendation of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, city officials were urged to find a new source for drinking water.
According to both the MDEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency, the water is safe to drink. The contaminated wells were shut down and further tests revealed no DDT byproduct in the drinking water.
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