Measurement of the Day: PARTS PER BILLION [Part 2 of 3]

[This is part two of my three-part series on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.] 

PART 2 –– ONLY ONE CRISIS ENDS

Emergency Manager Jerry Ambrose declared on April 29, 2015, that Flint's financial crisis was over, and he stepped down.  However, all decisions regarding Flint were now the function of a Receivership Transition Advisory Board.

That Summer, a group called The Coalition for Clean Water filed an injunction against the use of Flint River water, seeking a return to water from Detroit.  A federal judge rejected the injunction.  Just days later, a memo written by an EPA "rogue employee" regarding Flint is leaked.  Written by Miguel Del Toral, the memo addresses the seriousness of Flint's water crisis and his serious concerns about the lack of corrosion treatment.  Remember, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had told the EPA they were addressing the issue.  Eventually, Lee Anne Walters got in touch with Del Toral and filled him in on what she knew first-hand about the water crisis.

About two-and-a-half weeks later, while speaking with Lindsey Smith on Michigan Radio, an MDEQ spokesperson addressed the leaked memo saying the following:
          "...anyone who is concerned about lead in the drinking water in Flint can relax.
          It does not look like there is any broad problem with the water supply freeing
          up lead as it goes to homes."  

In August of 2015, the State of Michigan revises two water sample reports put out by the City of Flint by omitting two of the water samples cited in the report.  One of the two samples was from Lee Ann Walters' home, which was the highest in lead content out of the entire collection of samples taken. Their argument was that Walters used a water filter on her tap which could have lowered the count, akin to tampered evidence in a trial.  The revised, two-samples-fewer report put the final total number below that which would have triggered a federal response to lead in a city's water supply. 

Researchers from Virginia Tech University began testing water samples from all over Flint.  A total of 300 samples were collected and tested.  On September 19, their report is released.  The researchers found high levels of lead in the water supply throughout Flint.  The EPA regards water with lead levels of 5,000 ppb and above as hazardous waste.  Lee Ann Walters' home was included in the Virginia Tech University study.  The lead level in her water was 13,200 ppb ... 880 times the safe level!

Enter pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.  Very shortly after the Virginia Tech report is released, Dr. Hanna-Attisha releases research she has done regarding blood-lead levels in children in Flint. Those levels had been steadily rising.  Prior to switching to Flint River water, her research reveals, just over two percent of children in Flint had elevated blood-lead levels.  After the switch, that number had almost doubled to four percent.  Dr. Hanna-Attisha noted that lead is a neurotoxin, which has been known for a very, very long tim, and can affect adults and children.  However, the developing brains of children are far more susceptible to irreparable damage, which can include ADHD and a lower IQ, among other issues.  If Lee Ann Walters' situation can be considering the firing off of a rocket in garnering attention, consider Dr. Hanna-Attisha's contribution as booster jets.

The Snyder administration dismissed her report.

Less than a week later, Governor Rick Snyder admits mistakes were made in the planning and execution of using Flint River water.  The next day, Genesee County, where Flint is, declares a public health emergency in Flint, with a plan to distribute water filters to residents.  And the day after that, MDEQ Director Dan Wyant states that Flint did use corrosion control measures, in conflict with a previous State of Michigan statement to the contrary and the EPA memo.  The same MDEQ spokesperson who said that residents "can relax", offered a clarification ... lime, a water softening and corrosion control substance, was added to the water supply.  Experts, in response, say an addition of lime would be insufficient to address the corrosion issue and there never was a plan in place to deal with the crisis.

On October 6, 2015, distribution of 24,000 water filters, provided by the state, the Genesee County Health Department, and the United Way is begun.  Two days later, Governor Snyder says that Flint will go back to Detroit's water system, at a cost of $12,000,000.  Both the State and the Mott Foundation will contribute $10,000,000, while Flint will have to contribute $2,000,000.

On October 16, 2015, Flint was hooked back up with the Detroit water system.  Officials say it will take up to three weeks for all of the water to be fully from Detroit.  Whether or not lead levels in the water will go back down remains unknown.

In November, Flint mayor Dayne Walling lost his re-election bid as Karen Weaver is voted in to replace him; she is sworn in the following week.  Later that month, Flint residents file a class action lawsuit against the state and Flint government employees, focusing on health issues and property damage as a result of using Flint River water.  They seek a settlement to establish a fund for ongoing medical monitoring for residents.

Five weeks after being sworn in, new mayor Karen Weaver officially declares a state of emergency in Flint, citing irreversible damage to children from drinking Flint River water.  Remember how the Emergency Managers were appointed by Governor Snyder?  Well, later that same week, cable channel MSNBC host Rachel Maddow broke the story of how Governor Snyder is, indeed, culpable in this mass poisoning.


Ms. Maddow has stayed on top of this story and just two weeks ago, she hosted a live town hall from Flint titled An American Disaster: The Crisis in Flint.








Terry

TOMORROW
GETTING WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER