Flint, Michigan

Water Crisis

Valeria Hernndez

5-D

What is it?

Water contained lead and other toxins.

This contamination started on April

2014.

The problem:
Cause

About 2 years ago,

Michigan decided to
change Flint's water source
from Lake Huron, to the
Flint river, to save money.

Lake Huron

The problem:
Consequences

Kids got sick

People couldn't drink water
from their own sink

How it was discovered

When they changed the source of

their water supply, people started
complaining.

They complained that the water

smelled, looked and tasted
dierent.

They made tests to the water that

confirmed amounts of fecal coliform
bacteria and lead in the water.

Also, the number of children with

above average levels of lead in their
blood had almost doubled since the
city had changed their water
source.

People's experiences
LeAnne Walters

She asked an employee of the

city to test the water and it
revealed:

The water had 400 ppb of lead,

the maximum lead was 15 ppb!

LeAnne went to test her

children:

All 4 of them had been

exposed to lead.

Gavin had bona fide lead

poisoning, which put him at
great risk.

People's experiences
LeAnne Walters

Her family suered from the eects of lead in Flint's water

supply.

18, Kaylie: large clumps of hair falling out of her head

3, twins, Garrett and Gavin: rashes

3, Gavin: stopped growing

14, JD: abdominal pain

37, LeAnne: eyelashes fell out

People's experiences
Melissa Mays

On 2014:

Her hair started falling out.

Back muscles ached

Once she was taking a bathtub

and saw that the water was
pure yellow.

Today:

Her husband, her 3 children and

herself:

The 5 of them suer from long

term heavy metals poisoning

Long Term
Consequences

Lead aects brain development

in children:

Lower IQ scores

Delays in development

Reduced intelligence

Changes in behavior: decrease in

ability to pay attention and
increase in violence and
antisocial behavior

Behavioral issues like:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder

Long Term
Consequences

Even after the exposure to lead

stops, the eects can last for years
or even be permanent.

There are no drugs known that would

eectively cure the damage caused
by the lead.

"Chelation Therapy" is something

that can remove lead from the body,
but it hasn't been known to work on
fixing the behavioral or neurological
problems.

Actual Situation

Criminal charges are being filed

against 3 people for hiding
evidence that the water was
contaminated.

Nowadays, the water is safe

and clean.

But people still think it is

unsafe as it used to be.

Actions taken to deal

with the problem

Looking for programs and experts to

help them find the solution.

They want the citizens start trusting

the government again.

EPA employees were doing tests in

the water to reduce the amount of
lead.

They are donating filters for

everyone's water.

They are also distributing water

bottles so people have safe water to
drink.

Mothers are feeding their babies with

special formulas that don't include
water.

Similar situations

Several USA states in the

Midwest and the New England
Region have exceeded the
standard among of Arsenic in
the water.

In Chicago:

There are some pipes that are

100 years and older

The tap water runs through old

pipes that can leak lead

Resources

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctors-explain-the-long-term-health-effects-of-flint-water-crisis/

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/01/mother-exposed-flint-lead-contamination-watercrisis

http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Web-Extras/Online-Extras/Health-Consequences-of-FlintsWater-Crisis.aspx

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/11/health/toxic-tap-water-flint-michigan/

http://www.people.com/article/outcome-lead-poisoning-flint-michigan-water-crisis

http://flintwaterstudy.org

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/water/water-toxins

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/01/dhhs_provides_list_of_steps_be.html

http://time.com/4156867/toxic-water-michigan/

Picture Resources

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/infographic.htm

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/05/health/flint-michigan-water-investigation/

http://bridgemi.com/2016/02/signs-of-trouble-at-mdeq-years-before-flint-lead-crisis/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Huron#/media/File%3ALake_Huron_from_Upper_Peninsula.JPG

http://www.truehealthct.com/2011/sharpen-your-childs-mind/

http://www.dogonews.com/2016/1/20/the-water-crisis-in-flint-michigan

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/01/more_than_150_call_for_gov_ric.html

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/01/mother-exposed-flint-lead-contamination-water-crisis

http://www.people.com/article/outcome-lead-poisoning-flint-michigan-water-crisis

https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/do-not-drink-the-water-crisis-in-flint-michigan/

https://williams-syndrome.org/new-england-region

http://www.periodictable.com/Elements/033/pictures.html

http://www.worldatlas.com/na/us/il/where-is-chicago.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wtf-is-happening-in-the-flint-water-crisis-explained-20160122

http://www.bevindustry.com/articles/86818-sparkling-water-outpaces-bottled-water-category?v=preview