Flint, Michigan: No Democracy, and poisoned drinking water

[Jhonie]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/kids-toxic-test-results-raised-alarm--doctor-588639299776

Rachel Maddow reports on the poisoning of Flint, Michigan residents when their water supply was switched, and shows explicitly how responsibility for the tragedy falls to Governor Rick Snyder and his radical, anti-democratic policies.

[risveglio]

Any legitimate news sources report on this?

[Jhonie]

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/12/18/doctor-says-polluted-flint-water-worse-for-children-than-originally-thought.html

The polluted water coming out of the taps in Flint, Michigan may be worse for children than previously thought, according to the doctor who discovered that the children were at risk of brain damage from the city’s water supply.

Dr. Monda Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at a local hospital who had raised concerns in the summer of the metal in the water, told The Guardian that between 8,000 and 9,000 children under the age of six are in jeopardy because of the contaminated water in Flint. At least 15 percent of those children have dangerous levels of lead in their blood, she said.

[risveglio]

I guess it could be true but those are two horrible news sources. Though it seems only the little boy blamed it on the governor. Though I am sure if the governor was a democrat, fox would be blaming him.

[aceninja]

It is true. Whether or not the Gov is to blame is another story.

Flint's water came from Detroit for decades. Flint voted to disconnect from Detroit's clean water system (probably because of water rate increases) and use their own water source for its residents. Flint knew that their water was contaminated (eventually), but the scenario played out much longer than expected obviously because politicians love to save face.

The Governor actually ordered them to connect back to Detroit's water system.

The only conspiracy here is whatever industry dumped contaminants in the water supply in the first place...

[Lefty Dave]

Greetings
Wasn't Flint the first american city to introduce the addition of fluoride into their drinking water...as a dental caries preventitive for children ? We all now know that's not quite true...don't we?
Blessings all
end of line.

[Jhonie]

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/10/ex_emergency_manager_earley_sa.html

Earley, who served as Flint's emergency manager from September 2013 until January 2015, said in an email to The Flint Journal-MLive on Tuesday, Oct. 13, that the water source decision was made months before he was appointed to run the city by Gov. Rick Snyder.

"The decision to separate from (the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) and go with the Karegnondi Water Authority, including the decision to pump Flint River water in the interim, were both a part of a long-term plan that was approved by Flint's mayor, and confirmed by a City Council vote of 7-1 in March of 2013 — a full seven months before I began my term as emergency manager," Earley's email says.

Although the Flint City Council voted in March 2013 in support of moving to the KWA pipeline — a new pipeline that would serve the region with Lake Huron water — there is no record that the council voted to use the Flint River as a short-term drinking water source.

While Earley oversaw the switch, the decision to switch was signed by Flint's previous state-appointed emergency manager, Ed Kurtz.

The blame game begins...... and I am wondering WHY an emergency manager in the first place?

[aceninja]

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/10/ex_emergency_manager_earley_sa.html

Earley, who served as Flint's emergency manager from September 2013 until January 2015, said in an email to The Flint Journal-MLive on Tuesday, Oct. 13, that the water source decision was made months before he was appointed to run the city by Gov. Rick Snyder.

"The decision to separate from (the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) and go with the Karegnondi Water Authority, including the decision to pump Flint River water in the interim, were both a part of a long-term plan that was approved by Flint's mayor, and confirmed by a City Council vote of 7-1 in March of 2013 — a full seven months before I began my term as emergency manager," Earley's email says.

Although the Flint City Council voted in March 2013 in support of moving to the KWA pipeline — a new pipeline that would serve the region with Lake Huron water — there is no record that the council voted to use the Flint River as a short-term drinking water source.

While Earley oversaw the switch, the decision to switch was signed by Flint's previous state-appointed emergency manager, Ed Kurtz.

The blame game begins...... and I am wondering WHY an emergency manager in the first place?

Very interesting indeed... This was voted on by their own elected officials, and they tried to blame the EM? I wasn't aware of that... I thought they at least had the decency to accept the blame.

Why an emergency manager?

Flint doesn't (didn't at the time) have their own police force. If you dial 911... good luck. That's how bad their finances were messed up. When elected officials fail to run a balanced budget and provide basic needs for their taxpaying citizens, the State steps in which they should in my humble opinion.

[Jhonie]

I am wondering why was lead in the water pipes? Were they that old? And who was responsible for making sure the river water would not cause lead to contaminate the water. The cost of water in Flint is $140 per month. Here in Sacramento the water fees are only $45.73 for unlimited use.

[amor]

For those interested in contaminated drinking water to the populace, the new Smart Water Meters emit a frequency which will remove the calcium carbonate scale which has accumulated as lining on ancient lead pipes after which the lead leaches into the water and into human bodies and brains. Goodbye humans.

[Rocky_Shorz]

Has anyone found why Flint River water is so corrosive it is dissolving lead pipes?

[thunder24]

Because it is the shallowest, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes,[13] and in 1999 this almost became a problem for two nuclear power plants which require cool lake water to keep their reactors cool.[14] The warm summer of 1999 caused lake temperatures to come close to the 85 °F (29 °C) limit necessary to keep the plants cool.[14] ...
Since there are fewer wetlands, which are like "Nature's kidneys" by filtering nutrients, as well as greater "channelization of waterways", nutrients in water can cause algal blooms to sprout as well as "low-oxygen dead zones" in a complex interaction of natural forces.[10] As of the 2010s much of the phosphorus in the lake comes from fertilizer applied to no-till soybean and corn fields but washed into streams by heavy rains. The algal blooms result from growth of Microcystis, a toxic blue-green algae that the zebra mussels which infest the lake don't eat.[11]

...One recent account suggests that the seasonal algae blooms in Lake Erie were possibly caused by "runoff from cities, fertilizers, zebra mussels, and livestock near water."[12] A second report focuses on the zebra mussels as being the cause of "big oxygen-poor dead zones" since they filter so much sediment that they have resulted in the growth of algae.[51] One report suggests the oxygen-poor zone began about 1993 in the lake's central basin and becomes more pronounced during summer months, but it is somewhat of a mystery why this happens.[79] Some scientists speculate that the dead zone is a naturally occurring phenomenon.[75] Another report cited Ohio's Maumee River as the main source of polluted runoff of phosphorus from industries, municipalities, tributaries and agriculture, and in 2008, satellite images showed the algal bloom heading toward Pelee Island, and possibly heading to Lake Erie's central basin.[75] There have been two-year $2 million studies trying to understand the "growing zone" which was described as a "10-foot-thick layer of cold water at the bottom", 55 feet (17 m) in one area, which stretches "100 miles across the lake's center".[79] It kills fish and microscopic creatures of the lake's food chain and fouls the water, and may cause further problems in later years for sport and commercial fishing.[79]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie

looking into the reactions of phospurus on lead now...if any one else has an answer on this please share.... what im looking at is the acids in the lake from fertilizer runoff that would cause the corrosion


The presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM), as humic acids (HA), in natural waters is assumed to decrease dissolved metal bioavailability by binding metal ions and, therefore, decreasing the free ion concentration in solution. In this study, Pb complexation by HA in artificial seawater was checked by means of square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). Uptake and toxicity of this metal in the absence and presence of HA was tested using excised gills of Mytilus edulis and the Paracentrotus lividus embryo-larval bioassay respectively. Both Pb uptake by mussel gills and Pb toxicity to sea urchin larvae increased in the presence of HA, and this increase was higher at higher HA concentrations. Since it is shown that the presence of DOM can enhance the uptake and toxicity of lead in some important marine invertebrate species, these results challenge the general applicability of the free ion activity and related models used for deriving environmental water quality criteria for metals http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es070088h

ignorant on chemistry it seems either chlorine,floride, some acid or oxygen has caused the corrosion... my head hurts from reading chemistry articles...

[Calz]

This should help ...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO-TjlSP49A

[thunder24]

..........................................

[risveglio]

The Government Poisoned Flint’s Water—So Stop Blaming Everyone Else
https://reason.com/blog/2016/01/21/the-government-poisoned-flints-waterso-s

[Hervé]

Professor Who Exposed Flint Water Crisis Says Greed Has Killed Science (http://naturalsociety.com/professor-exposed-flint-water-crisis-greed-killed-science-62758/)


Pressure to Get Funded Destroys Integrity



http://naturalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/article-marc-edwards-flint-735x350.jpg


http://naturalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/24.thumbnail.jpg by Christina Sarich (http://naturalsociety.com/author/christina/), Posted on February 23, 2016


“I grew up worshiping at the altar of science, and in my wildest dreams I never thought scientists would behave this way,” said Virginia Tech professor, Marc Edwards, whose research helped expose the high levels of lead in municipal waters (http://naturalsociety.com/lead-levels-children-flint-michigan-state-emergency/) in both Flint, Michigan, and Washington, D.C.


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Marc Edwards is the Virginia Tech civil engineer and professor who helped expose the Flint water crisis, all while Governor Snyder was colluding to keep that information hidden, as shown by the governor’s emails (http://triblive.com/usworld/nation/9921078-74/flint-snyder-group).

When interviewed in February by the Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/article/The-Water-Next-Time-Professor/235136), Edwards said that both Michigan and Washington authorities knew they were poisoning residents with lead-contaminated water.

Academic Pressures Hinder Useful Research
Edwards lamented that the idea of engaging in scientific research for the public good is lost due to a scientific culture that lives on a “hedonistic treadmill.” Researchers face incredible pressure to pursue funding, publication, and academic clout for the universities that sponsor their work.

The pressure put on academics to secure funding is leading scientists to ignore obvious truths that need investigation – such as contaminated drinking water. Instead, they make convenient statements that will line their pockets.

Edwards said that he is:

“…very concerned about the culture of academia in this country and the perverse incentives that are given to young faculty.

”Academic research and scientists in this country are no longer deserving of the public trust.” [1] Edwards seems to be the exception to this rule. His exposure of lead levels in the Washington, D.C. (http://naturalsociety.com/after-a-year-of-lies-michigan-governor-admits-high-lead-levels-in-flints-tap-water/) water supply helped Flint residents get their water tested. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) had ignored Flint’s earlier requests.

Agencies Should Solve Problems, Not Be Problems
Edwards noted how government scientists’ corruption along with academia’s refusal to address valid claims like those of Flint’s citizens is what led to this current public health crisis.

He explained:

“In Flint the agencies paid to protect these people weren’t solving the problem. They were the problem. What faculty person out there is going to take on their state, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?

I don’t blame anyone, because I know the culture of academia. You are your funding network as a professor. You can destroy that network that took you 25 years to build with one word. I’ve done it. When was the last time you heard anyone in academia publicly criticize a funding agency, no matter how outrageous their behavior? We just don’t do these things.

If an environmental injustice is occurring, someone in a government agency is not doing their job. Everyone we wanted to partner said, Well, this sounds really cool, but we want to work with the government. We want to work with the city. And I’m like, You’re living in a fantasy land, because these people are the problem.” [1] Edwards admits he has lost friends by standing against the system:

“When I realized what they had done, as a scientist, I was just outraged and appalled. The only way I can construct a worldview that accommodates this is to say, These people are unscientific. Science should be about pursuing the truth and helping people. If you’re doing it for any other reason, you really ought to question your motives.” [1] In the following video:

“Virginia Tech’s Marc Edwards and his team of research scientists and students presented in Blacksburg to outline their internationally recognized work — done in collaboration with Flint, Michigan, residents — that exposed widespread lead-in-water contamination.

The presentation provided an overview of the Flint Water Study team’s efforts combining ethics engineering, citizen science, laboratory experiments, investigative science, and social media to confirm the high lead levels in Flint’s water.” Governor Snyder, who had hidden the crisis from Michigan’s residents, was absent from both hearings on the water crisis. Edwards testified (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/02/03/part-1984-part-enemy-people-flint-residents-share-outrage-capitol-hill) along with Flint residents before the House Oversight Committee on February 3 and was recently appointed to a task force to help address the ongoing crisis.


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Source: CommonDreams (http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/02/03/professor-who-exposed-flint-crisis-says-greed-has-killed-public-science)
Featured image source and credit (http://michiganradio.org/post/virginia-tech-researcher-accuses-state-health-officials-hiding-data-flints-water#stream/0): STEVE CARMODY / MICHIGAN RADIO