Officials Permit Residents to Drink Poisoned Water for 18 Months

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Officials Permit Residents to Drink Poisoned Water for 18 Months

January 22nd, 2016

Awake Goy

Residents of Flint, Michigan used contaminated water for over a year.

Public officials allowed residents of Flint, Michigan, to drink contaminated water for almost two years before responding to the problem in a positive way. Flint has a population of approximately 100,000, most of whom are black. About 40% of the residents are below the poverty level and 15% of the homes are boarded up and abandoned. There is no grocery store in the city.

A governor-appointed financial manager decided to save money by changing Flint’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. In the past, the Flint River was used as a dumping ground for chemicals and trash, but had been cleaned up and was considered safe for use. The change occurred in April 2014 and complaints began within a month.

City residents complained about the “dirty” appearance, “stinky” smell, and foul taste of the water as well as side effects such as rashes and hair loss. They were told by officials that the water was perfectly safe. In October 2014 General motors complained that the water was rusting car parts, and was permitted to use a different water line. The water supply was so poor in 2014 that a local Flint hospital received reports from the employees who cleaned the surgical instruments that they were seeing corrosion; the hospital promptly replaced its water filters.

In August, 2015, researchers from Virginia Tech tested water in the homes of some residents and found high levels of lead in the drinking water. When they publicized their results state officials insisted their own research was more accurate. A local pediatrician, complying with Medicare requirements that records be kept of the level of lead in the blood of toddlers, made a stunning discovery: lead levels had doubled and sometimes tripled in the blood of her young patients since the change in water source was made. State officials denounced her findings for a week before admitting she was right.

Lead exposure is extremely harmful. It poisons the nervous system and in young children whose brain and nervous systems are still forming, lead poisoning can stunt brain development and cause developmental delays, behavioral problems, and lower I.Q. While damage cannot be reversed, health workers are doing all they can to reduce the severity of the effects. Their efforts include teaching parents to provide young children diets that are rich in iron, calcium and vitamin C and helping teachers identify developmental issues early so that affected children can be placed in special programs.

In October 2015, Flint went back to the Lake Huron water supply. However, the lead was not in the Flint River water but in the pipes through which the water flowed. The highly corrosive river water ate away the coating of pipes and permitted the lead to seep in. About 50% of Flint’s residents have corroded lead pipes. It is estimated that to replace all of the city’s lead pipes would cost about $1.5 billion.

The city is passing out bottled water and water filters.