Berrien County officials have begun an inquiry into the alleged misuse of $2 million of federal grant money provided to the county for lead abatement activities.

The inquiry was prompted by allegations made Thursday at the Berrien County Board of Commissioners’ regular meeting.

Bill Wolf, county administrator, said the allegations were made by County Commissioner Marletta Seats and Benton Harbor City Commissioners Duane Seats and Mary Alice Adams. Marletta is Duane’s mother.

The allegations concern a $2 million grant the county accepted in 2010 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a lead abatement program. The grant was administered by the Berrien County Health Department.

County officials are asking any citizen with knowledge of the alleged misuse of lead abatement funds to respond in writing with a written statement to the Board of Commissioners, 701 Main St., St. Joseph, MI 49085 by the close of business on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

The funding was provided for lead abatement activities for eligible dwellings in Berrien County.

At the time, lead poisoning rates of Berrien County children were among the highest in the state. Childhood lead poisoning can be attributed to exposure to lead dust, particles and/or chips that may be in the living spaces of these children. Eliminating the lead poisoning involved identifying the source of the lead in the living spaces of the children and eliminating the source by measures including the proper concealment of the source and/or removal of the source and replacement with lead safe materials. Because of this grant-funded program, 124 homes were made lead safe, 100 of them being in Benton Harbor.