Lawsuit Filed Over Lead in DC Water

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A single father from northeast Washington has filed a $200 million lawsuit against the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, claiming his twin sons were poisoned as infants during the city's lead crisis.

Attorneys for John Parkhurst say the complaint also is on behalf of other parents of children affected by high lead levels in city water between 2001 and 2004. It says that the water authority hid the elevated levels from customers and federal authorities.

Parkhurst claims that lead poisoning has caused his sons to have ongoing behavioral and learning difficulties.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a new study that found that hundreds of D.C. children might be at risk of irreversible IQ loss and other problems linked to the lead levels.