Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has asked President Barack Obama to declare both an emergency and an expedited major disaster in the county where the city of Flint has been dealing with the fallout from lead-contaminated drinking water.
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Drinking water in the region has seen elevated lead levels since officials switched the source from Detroit’s municipal supply to the Flint River.
Flint residents already are being urged to use drinking water filters, which are being distributed for free along with bottled water. The assistance Snyder has requested could include grants for temporary housing, home repairs and other needs.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has announced his office will investigate the Flint water crisis.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said she was glad to see Snyder move forward with the request. However, lead continues to leach into the water because the city’s lead pipes were corroded by Flint River water. Michigan State Police hold a barrier to keep protestors out of the Romney Building, where Gov. Rick Snyder’s office resides on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in Lansing, Mich. More than 150 people tried to flood…
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the request will be considered “expeditiously”.
An issue would remain for those customers, as Zelenko said each resident is responsible for the leads to the city’s water main system. Testing in October detected increased lead levels in residential water supplies and in children’s blood. “We’ve got to do something about it. They come back to me and say, ‘We’ve got this cleared up.'” Then Muchmore asked, “why does the water smell?” and the same thing happened again. “Flint residents are the victims in this crisis and they deserve a more urgent response equal to the gravity of this crisis”, he said in a statement earlier this week.
The goal of the investigation is to determine what, if any, MI laws were violated in the process that resulted in the contamination crisis now forcing Flint residents to rely on bottled water for drinking, cooking and bathing as they fear for their health.
Schuette says in a statement that the situation in Flint “is a human tragedy in which families are struggling with even the most basic parts of daily life”.
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Lead is a known neurotoxin in children and Hanna-Attisha said that it could lead to a “lifetime” of consequences, from lower IQ scores to behavioral issues.
