Governor Rick Snyder has activated National Guard units to go to work in Flint.
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No. Hardly. While the 30 National Guardsmen are expected to be in place by Friday following today’s call-up, let’s face it, it’s simply 30 bodies to help distribute water and supplies to the estimated 30,000 households in the perpetually beleaguered industrial city of 99,000. Members of the Guard are expected to start arriving in the city Wednesday.
The governor signed an executive order to activate the Guard.
Flint Water Fund is accepting donations to help purchase water filters and bottled water.
Since officials in Flint switched the city’s water source from Detroit to the Flint River in early 2014, complaints about the smell of the water and high levels of lead in children have piled up.
The move ordered by Governor Rick Snyder comes after recent tests found elevated blood-lead levels in children living in the city.
Spokesman Ian Branam said in an email that the CDC now has no plans to send staff to Flint and says state and local health department have jurisdiction over investigations in their states. The Flint Community Schools, the Genesee County…
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria that infect the lungs. This after republican Gov. Rick Snyder screwed over the town by changing where their water supply to the Flint River and hiring a shitty company to “purify” it. The reason that they were getting their water from a more costly source was likely because the Flint River is a toxic, polluted mess, but clearly Snyder didn’t care, he was looking to save costs.
There were 45 confirmed cases, including seven associated deaths, in Genesee County from June 2014 to March 2015.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
The American Red Cross has volunteers distributing water testing kits, water filters and bottled water at several locations.
State troopers and sheriff’s deputies began escorting eight teams Tuesday morning, trudging through 3 inches of snow. Flyers were left at homes where no one answered, giving the location of where to pick up the items later.
Flint police meanwhile warned people to be wary of scammers.
Chief James Tolbert says in a statement that police have received reports of people selling water filters.
Exposure to lead can cause learning disabilities in children and other problems, officials say. They also want to ensure monitoring protocols are properly followed. The agency’s director stepped down last month.
The task force also raised concerns about a lack of organization in responding to the disaster. Fallout from the Flint water crisis is mostly responsible.
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Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), whose congressional district includes Flint Township, told the Detroit News, that “Flint needs more action and less talk from Gov. Snyder”, and noted that he welcomes the Michigan National Guard’s support. Over the next year and a half, a series of public announcements and troubling disclosures, many of them first reported by investigative journalist Curt Guyette, described Flint’s deteriorating water quality and growing public dismay.
