Children in Flint, Michigan Have So Much Lead in Their Blood State of Emergency Just Declared
Lacey McLaughlin |
Lead levels are twice as high from before Flint switched its water source.
The child, who was given the pseudonym Makayla in a recent study by The Hurley Medical Center in Flint, is of one of hundreds of children who have tested positive for lead poisoning in the city.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency Monday evening over the public health crisis.
Lead poisoning disproportionately impacts low-income children like Makayla. Makayla lives with her single mother and two older siblings on the west side of town. Everyday the child’s mother mixes powdered milk from the federal government’s nutritional assistance program with warm tap water.
In can be years before lead poisoning shows the extent of its damage but consequences can result in learning disabilities, behavioral issues as well as damaged organs and compromised immune systems. The study estimates $3.19 to $4.85 billion in Michigan’s economic losses will result from lead exposure.
The number of infants and children with above-average levels of lead in their system nearly doubled since the city stopped using the Detroit water system and moved to the Flint River in 2014, according the study.
Last month parents of children who may have been affected permanently filed a class-action lawsuit against the federal government.
Mayor Weaver has made repeated pleas to state and federal officials over the last several months to voice concerns about the high content of lead in the city’s drinking water. During a press conference in September Weaver said that that there had been a “posture of denial that city officials had adopted” regarding the contamination.
“It’s unfathomable that highly trained, well paid city administrators who are sworn in to uphold the public trust respond to what is clearly a well-documented public health threat in such a callous, casual manner,” she said.
Weaver is asking the county to call a special meeting today to take action and is asking for support from the federal government.
1 opmerking:
Zie ook Michael Moore:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/ObamaComeToFlint
en vooral de UPDATE aan het eind daarvan.
Ondertussen rijst de vraag --bij mij maar daarin kan ik toch niet alleen
zijn-- of niet de /kosten/ van schoon water de motieven waren, maar gewoon
botweg dat wat ik de Leon-de_Winter-Oplossing noem.
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