Brian Barton
The Flint water crisis, which began in 2014, was a major public health crisis caused by lead seepage into the drinking water in Flint, Michigan. The crisis was precipitated by the city's decision to switch its water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River, which had been used as an unofficial waste disposal site for over a century. Inadequate treatment and testing of the water resulted in lead contamination, causing a range of health issues for residents, including skin rashes, hair loss, and elevated blood lead levels, particularly in children. The crisis was characterized as a result of systemic racism and environmental injustice, with the state and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) bearing primary responsibility. Several lawsuits were filed, accusing water quality consultants and state employees of negligence, public nuisance, and fraud.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of pollution | April 2014 |
| Companies involved | General Motors, Veolia North America, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam |
| Cause of pollution | Industrial dumping, leaded gasoline, tetraethyl lead |
| Health consequences | Lead poisoning, skin rashes, carcinogens in the water, Legionnaire's disease |
| Government response | State of emergency declared, water source switched back to Detroit |
| Location | Flint, Michigan |
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What You'll Learn
Industrial dumping by GM and its suppliers
The Flint River has been polluted by industrial waste for over a century. In the 1830s, lumber mills began dumping waste into the river. This was followed by paper mills and chemical processing plants. The river was also used as a disposal site for raw sewage, agricultural and urban runoff, and toxic landfill leachate.
General Motors (GM) and its suppliers are major contributors to the pollution of the Flint River. At its peak in the early 1980s, GM employed 80,000 workers in Flint, with a network of suppliers based upriver from the city. These suppliers produced components such as paint and batteries, which contained lead. GM also invented tetraethyl lead, a gasoline additive that allowed them to compete with Ford. This additive contributed to leaded gasoline, which powered GM cars.
In addition to lead pollution, GM's suppliers also dumped other toxic chemicals into the river. For example, in 1990, a furniture salesman was convicted of dumping drums of methylene chloride, toluene, xylene, and other chemicals onto his property along the riverbank. This illegal dumping contaminated the soil and contributed to the pollution of the river.
The pollution of the Flint River has had devastating effects on the health and well-being of Flint residents. In 2014, the city switched its drinking water source to the Flint River, which caused lead to leach into the water supply, exposing residents to unsafe levels of lead. This led to a major public health crisis, with residents experiencing skin rashes, hair loss, and elevated blood lead levels, particularly in children.
The crisis in Flint has been characterized as a result of systemic racism, as the predominantly African American and low-income population of the city did not receive the same level of protection from environmental and health hazards as other communities. It is important to recognize the role of GM and its suppliers in polluting the Flint River and hold them accountable for their contribution to this environmental injustice.
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Inadequate water treatment and testing
In April 2014, Flint, Michigan, switched its water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River. This change was made in a bid to save costs. However, this decision had severe consequences for the residents of Flint, who immediately noticed a difference in the quality of their water supply. The water was foul-smelling, discoloured, and had an unusual taste.
Despite these concerns, government officials maintained that the water was safe. This was far from the truth. The Flint River water was highly corrosive, and officials did not treat it adequately to prevent corrosion in the pipes. As a result, lead leached out from the aging pipes and into the water supply, exposing residents to unsafe levels of lead.
The inadequate water treatment is evident in the failure to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water. This omission resulted in the release of lead from the pipes, which had severe health implications for the residents. Furthermore, the water was not adequately tested, as demonstrated by the detection of E. coli and total coliform bacteria, prompting multiple advisories for residents to boil their water.
The consequences of the inadequate treatment and testing of Flint River water were far-reaching. High levels of lead were detected in the blood of children, leading to serious health issues such as skin rashes, hair loss, and itchy skin. The water was also linked to an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease, with a study by the American Chemical Society confirming the river as a likely trigger.
The crisis in Flint highlights the critical importance of proper water treatment and testing. It is essential to ensure that water sources are adequately treated to prevent corrosion and contamination. Comprehensive testing is also vital to identify any potential health risks and take immediate corrective actions. The situation in Flint could have been avoided if proper treatment and testing protocols had been implemented from the outset.
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Lead seepage into drinking water
In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, changed its water supply from Detroit's water system to the Flint River. This decision was made during a financial crisis and was intended to cut costs. However, the Flint River had a long history of pollution from industrial waste and chemical processing, and despite recent improvements, it was still highly contaminated.
The switch to the Flint River as a water source resulted in lead seepage into the drinking water, causing a major public health crisis. Lead is a harmful neurotoxin, and there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood. Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials containing lead corrode, which is a chemical reaction between the water and the pipes. This process is influenced by the water's chemistry, including its acidity and mineral content, as well as the length of time the water sits in the pipes.
In Flint, the water's high levels of chlorides corroded the city's aging lead pipes, causing unsafe levels of lead to leach into the drinking water. This was exacerbated by the failure to apply corrosion inhibitors, which are treatments that reduce the release of lead from pipes into the water. As a result, residents, particularly children, were exposed to elevated levels of lead, leading to increased blood lead levels and various health issues.
To address the crisis, the city of Flint resumed drawing water from the Detroit system in October 2015 and later signed a 30-year contract with the Great Lakes Water Authority. In addition, various measures were implemented, such as providing free filters and water testing for residents, and adding phosphates to the water to rebuild the protective coating inside transmission lines. However, the long-term health consequences of the lead exposure may not be fully understood for years.
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Legionnaires' disease outbreak
The Flint River in Michigan has been polluted by industrial waste for over a century. In the 1960s, Flint started sourcing its water from Detroit due to the contamination of the river. However, in April 2014, during a financial crisis, the state-appointed emergency manager, Darnell Earley, changed Flint's water source back to the Flint River. This decision marked the start of the Flint water crisis.
In June 2014, an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease began in Genesee County, Michigan, where Flint is located. Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium that grows in warm water systems and is transmitted via aerosols. The outbreak continued until November 2015, sickening at least 90 people and killing 12, according to official records. However, investigations suggest that the actual toll was much higher, with some attributing the increase in pneumonia deaths during the outbreak to Legionnaires' disease.
The outbreak was associated with multiple sources, including exposure to a Flint hospital, receiving Flint water at home, and residential proximity to cooling towers. The switch to the Flint River as the water source increased the risk of acquiring Legionnaires' disease for residents. The water from the Flint River was untreated and lacked corrosion inhibitors, resulting in lead contamination and elevated lead levels in the blood of Flint residents, particularly children.
In January 2016, the Legionnaires' disease outbreak was finally publicized, and the Michigan National Guard was mobilized to help distribute water in Flint. On January 13, 2016, Governor Snyder officially announced the outbreak and apologized for the crisis. The city of Flint resumed drawing water from the Detroit system, and in November 2017, signed a 30-year contract with the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA).
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Civil lawsuits against water quality consultants
The Flint water crisis was caused by the decision to switch the water supply from the Detroit water system to the Flint River in 2014 as a cost-cutting measure. This resulted in Flint residents being exposed to unsafe levels of lead in their drinking water, with children testing with elevated blood lead levels. The water crisis had far-reaching consequences, including lead poisoning, skin rashes, and the presence of carcinogens in the water.
In the wake of the crisis, civil lawsuits were filed against various parties, including government officials and water quality consultants. One notable lawsuit was brought by the state of Michigan against two engineering companies, Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN). The state accused these companies of professional negligence, negligence, public nuisance, fraud, and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit claimed that the incompetence of these water consultants was a principal cause of the Flint water crisis, as they failed to provide expert advice and warn about the potential issues with the water. However, the majority of the state's claims were dismissed by a judge, who found that the lawsuit did not meet the requirements for fraud and that the companies had, in fact, warned the city about corrosion issues.
Another lawsuit was filed by a class of Flint residents, businesses, and property owners against engineering firms that the city consulted for water quality evaluation and treatment. This lawsuit alleged professional negligence, arguing that the firms had a duty to warn residents about the unsafe water. This resulted in an $8 million settlement with one civil engineering company, and a proposed $25 million settlement with Veolia North America.
Additionally, on November 13, 2015, four families filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Governor Snyder and thirteen other city and state officials. The complaint alleged reckless and negligent conduct, resulting in serious injuries from lead poisoning and other health issues. However, this case was dismissed in 2017 due to a lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The Flint water crisis resulted in a total of 79 civil lawsuits being filed as of February 2019. These lawsuits sought to hold accountable those responsible for the contaminated water and the subsequent health and safety concerns faced by the residents of Flint, Michigan.
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Frequently asked questions
No single company polluted the Flint River. Over more than a century, the river has served as an unofficial waste disposal site for many local industries.
In 1990, a furniture salesman was convicted of dumping toxic chemicals onto his property on the banks of the river. In 1999, 22 million gallons of raw human, industrial, residential, and commercial waste poured into the river.
The Flint water crisis refers to a series of major water quality and health issues that began in 2014 when the city switched its water supply from Detroit's system to the Flint River. This resulted in lead contamination in the drinking water, causing a major public health crisis.
The consequences of the Flint water crisis included lead poisoning, skin rashes, and carcinogens in the water. There was also an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease, and fertility rates among Flint women decreased by 12%, while fetal death rates increased by 58%.
Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) were hired as water-quality consultants and were accused of negligence and public nuisance. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission concluded that the poor governmental response to the crisis was a result of systemic racism.
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