Letter: Duplication in test limits puzzling

I read the June 21 North County News story “Ridgefield schools’ lead levels elevated.” It’s fairly alarming, and needs to be fixed pronto, of course, but one statement in the story really stuck out to me. “Ridgefield High School and View Ridge Middle School tested above the Washington State Department of Health rule of 20 parts per billion, and the federal limit of 15 parts per billion.”

So my question is, why is Washington state’s limit 33 percent higher than the United States’ limit.

We are paying government ecologists and biologists to conduct tests and set limits on contaminants.

We also pay state people for the same thing. If Washington state government people are going to ignore federal rules, (does that sound right?) what do we need with U.S. government scientists?

Does this mean that Washington state scientists think they know more than the feds? It sure sounds like it. Boy, I sure wish I could ignore federal rules and get away with it.

As it stands right now, we are paying for two different agencies to come up with two different standards.

Dump the chumps in Olympia. I’m going with the feds.