Flint, with a population of about 100,000, was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager in 2014 when it switched its water source from Detroit’s municipal system to the Flint River to save money.
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The odds of a child having a unsafe lead level were almost 50 percent higher when their water source came from the Flint River.
Hannna-Attisha’s report was considered a watershed moment in drawing attention to the then-growing public health crisis in Flint, where lead started leaching out of old lead water pipes into residents’ taps when the city switched water sources without being required by the state to also use corrosion control.
After a water advisory was issued on January 2, 2015 for high levels of trihalomethanes, a byproduct of disinfectants, elevated blood-lead levels dropped somewhat to about 4% of those tested, possibly because it reduced overall tap water consumption, but it didn’t drop precipitously until late a year ago, when the city switched back to Detroit water after independent experts warned of high lead levels found in the water.
The CDC studied children younger than 6 – the age group most vulnerable to the effects of lead poisoning.
While the city relied on the Flint River for water, children younger than 6 had a 46% higher chance of testing at or above 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, the CDC’s level of concern. The crisis has prompted lawsuits by parents who say their children have shown dangerously high levels of lead in their blood.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement that the most recent testing at almost 50 locations in the city showed lead levels far below the levels considered unsafe.
Officials noted some limitations with the Flint findings: They couldn’t account for all factors that might have contributed to a child’s lead exposure, such as whether lead-based paint was present in the children’s homes or whether a decline in blood-lead levels post-return to Detroit water was at least partly because of the increased consumption of bottled water.
The announcement Thursday is based on tests of filters that have been distributed for months for free by the state of MI and the federal government. “We have also expanded Medicaid and strongly urge parents to enroll their children and schedule appointments for them to be seen by a health provider, who can follow their health as they grow and develop”, Lurie said.
New developments unfold in the lengthy water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Most doctors recommend that children’s lead levels be tested during routine wellness exams.
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“People using filtered water instead of bottled water can relieve a significant burden on themselves because they don’t have to deal with transporting and storing it”, Snyder said. While a new pipeline connecting Flint with Lake Huron was under construction, the city turned to the Flint River as a water source during the two-year transition.
