Water:  The Bad News

In recent weeks we have heard disturbing news about lead contaminated water in Flint Michigan.  The city changed its water source to the Flint River instead of Lake Huron and the Detroit River.  The water from the Flint River didn’t have corrosion control treatment on the aging lead pipes that delivered the water for use by its residents.  It’s estimated that 6,000-12,000 children were exposed to high levels of lead.  Because the Flint River was so high in bacteria, higher levels of chlorine were used in treating the water resulting in higher than normal carcinogenic byproducts such as trihalomethanes. The health risks from this exposure is vast and there will be scores of lawsuits that will follow.  The chain of command that played a part in this tragedy seems to go as high as the governor of Michigan and possibly into the EPA. 

In the book Lead Wars, the authors Moskowitz and Rosner give a detailed history of the lead problem in the U.S.  For example, between 1900-1950 all paint was 50% lead carbonate.  A child ingesting a chip consisting of a gram or two could be enough to cause convulsions.   ( keep reading)