Flint Water Crisis
This is how toxic Flint’s water really is. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/15/this-is-how-toxic-flints-water-really-is/
Chemistry and the Flint Water Crisis – Speaking of Chemistry https://youtu.be/k18vbGwPxz4
Terese Olson, The Conversation: The science behind the Flint water crisis: corrosion of pipes, erosion of trust.
Additional Resources:
Hanna-Attisha M, LaChance J, Sadler RC, Champney Schnepp A. Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children Associated With the Flint Drinking Water Crisis: A Spatial Analysis of Risk and Public Health Response. Am J Public Health. 2016 Feb;106(2):283-90. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003
Watch the video Chemistry and the Flint Water Crisis – Speaking of Chemistry; Flint water and effects on kids ( http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily_videos/poison-water-in-flint-affects-everyones-health-especially-kids/ ) and read the article, “The science behind the Flint water crisis: corrosion of pipes, erosion of trust”, to help answer the questions provided below.
Questions to answer and discuss:
Why was the water supply for Flint changed from the lake to the Flint River? What are the results of that decision?
What is lead poisoning? What are the effects of lead poisoning?
Will water bottles and filters solve the problem? Explain why or why not.
Given the known effects of lead poisoning on children, what additional issues can Flint most likely expect to see in the coming years? (find other creditable information sources news articles, journal articles, etc to help answer this question) Explain your reasons for your answer.
Why was the state and local government’s response to the increased levels of lead in Flint’s water so delayed?
As disaster management professionals, what could you do to get the Flint community to trust your plan of action and mitigation? (find other creditable information sources news articles, journal articles, etc to help answer this question) Explain or give reasons for how you can do this.