As if the lead-contaminated water in MI wasn’t already a grave threat to the health of residents, state officials have noted a spike in Legionnaires’ disease over the past two years.
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In addition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation into Flint’s water, residents filed a federal lawsuit against the city for deliberately endangering their health.
Michigan Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich of Flint is pushing for the Legislature to make emergency funding available for the city of Flint to address the water crisis.
Officials with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said they first noticed the increase in Legionnaires’ diagnoses in the fall of 2014, according to the Free Press.
The illnesses occurred in Genesee County, where Flint is located. Not all the people who got Legionnaires’ were exposed to Flint water, he said.
The Detroit News reported late Tuesday that federal officials began making inquiries in February and the region’s top EPA official, Susan Hedman, confirmed to the newspaper this week that as early as April the agency knew about the lack of corrosion controls in the water system. Flint has now switched its supplies back to Lake Huron.
Since then, the northeastern city of some 100,000 people has seen lead levels surge and a plague of health issues after drinking and bathing in the cloudy, foul-smelling water coming out of their faucets.
According to Snyder, more than 12,000 filters have been distributed since October, along with 700 water tests and more than 2,000 blood tests – more than 40 of which showed elevated levels of lead.
Lead can cause permanent brain damage, leading to behavior problems and learning disabilities.
Flint police are warning people to be wary of scammers trying to prey on residents amid the city’s drinking water crisis.
The jump followed the switch in the city’s water source from the Detroit system to the Flint River, which caused lead to be injected into drinking water, but Snyder says officials have not determined if the increase in Legionnaires’ cases is related. The governor had asked FEMA to step in to coordinate with other federal agencies.
The statement says Snyder’s request will be reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will advise the president on whether the declarations should be granted.
The letters from the scouts were posted to the Flint Water Study website.
The localized portion of the exhibit features a timeline exploring the history of Flint’s drinking water beginning in 1873.
The ongoing water-quality crisis in Flint, Michigan, is drawing the attention of even the area’s youngest residents, prompting members of Girl Scout Brownie Troop 71729 to write letters to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder voicing their concerns.
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More than 30 Guardsmen will be in place by Friday, enabling American Red Cross volunteers to join door-to-door efforts already underway instead of staffing sites where residents can pick up free bottled water, filters, replacement cartridges and home water testing kits.
