Flint Water Crisis Essay

Flint Water Crisis The environmental health of the cities in our nation is protected by our government. Preventative measures are in place to test soil, water, and air. Routine samples give cities the reassurance they need to protect their citizens from contamination. Without continual monitoring, accountability, and quick resolutions, the environmental health of our nation is at risk. The astounding rise in lead contaminated water found in Flint, Michigan is the result of poor monitoring and a slow response from the local and state government. Research definitively shows a significant increase of blood lead levels in children under the age of five living in Flint, Michigan. These increased levels are found to be directly related to a water
The country at this time was booming with population and the Flint River wasn’t a large enough source for the growing area. The change however, was only temporary. Once the industries started to go under and people started to move to obtain jobs elsewhere, Flint’s population went down again. City officials saw this as an opportunity to throw them back on the old water supply system from the Flint River. Though some cleaning of the water had been attempted, the lead pipes transporting the water are now corroded and poisoning the water
Environmental health in this country should not be based on race or wealth. Yet, prior to the change in water source, these same neighborhoods in Flint have already seen their children’s blood lead levels higher than those in surrounding cities. Factors including dilapidated housing, fewer water samples tested, lack of preventative maintenance to support corrosion control, and fewer children getting the screenings they need due to lack of funding. Consequently, lower income families are found to have been the most vulnerable population hit by this crisis. As stated in our own Environmental Health text book, “The concept of environmental justice denotes the equal treatment of all people in society irrespective of their racial background, country of origin, and socioeconomic status” (Friis, 2012, p.