In “Lead Contamination in Flint - An Abject Failure to Protect Public Health” David Bellinger examines the impact Flint’s contaminated water has and will continue to have on its population, primarily the children. In 2014, executives from the Flint Water Treatment Plant decided to use the Flint River as the main source of water instead of Lake Huron as a “cost saving measure.” The river is polluted with lead from older, now defunct industrial factories which specialized in products that contain harmful byproducts. One of the water-purifying agents used in the Flint River is ferric chloride which has an effect on naturally occurring bio-matter in water, increased corrosiveness.…
Since pipes in flint are made of lead, lead started…
When Flint decided to stop buying Detroit’s water and switch to new water, they had no idea what was in store. Soon, every Flint civilian was exposed to Lead. Lead can affect children’s brain development, education attainment, and impair the body. Increasing Lead amount in Flint’s water can cause permanent issues in the town members’ health. Flint’s government is at fault here, and it needs to take charge before things get worse.…
During Cosmos S.1 Ep.7, I've learned about the event of lead poisoning around the world. This episode is about a scientist named Clare Patterson, whom discovered Earth's real age. Patterson performs an experiment called "The Clean Room" where Patterson studies tiny zircon crystals. He measures the lead and it is six times more than what was in the zircons. Then something serious occurred.…
Ecological effects Toxic gumbo Elevated toxicity in the early days after Katrina hit and the leaves broke soil lead levels fell dramatically after Katrina and rita hit because relatively clean sediments washed into the city in the wake of those storms blanketing the more toxic soils Lead researcher Howard mielke notes that the city is still in terrible shape indoor pollution. And mold growth inside still remains a health problem louisiana was losing 12 to 14 square miles per year before Katrina came along but Katrina storm surge only lasted a couple of hours unlike rita which happened a few months later the waves for that one lasted weeks both hurricanes lost anywhere from 204 to 252 square miles of wetland shore line And also added…
IQ and ability to pay attention are affected. Another effect lead can have on the body is that it can accumulate and remain in bones and organs years after exposure. Finally, if your diet is lacking calcium or iron the body may mix up lead with those nutrients, so having a healthy diet does help. Officials not responding to crisis…
A lot happen after a water leaves the treatment plant. Most of the service line are made of lead including the one’s in flint. The reason many people are not lead poisoned despite the fact that most of the pipe use to travel the water are made of lead. The reason lies in the complex chemical reactions that goes on between the pipes and the water that flow through it. “ inside the pipes, as the water goes through it, it react.…
From the past to the present, social injustice is still occurring all over the world. Abuse of power, in particular, is a cause of social injustice where someone could take advantage, gain access to information, or manipulate someone with ability to punish them. In current events today and in historical events in the past, people with a position of power has used it in an abusive way. If they’re a high ranked leader or on top of their social class, they’ve had lots of power to misuse. Nazis in Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night,showed they mistreated and punished prisoners in concentration camps.…
Concerns starting with rashes, lost hair, and some sickened or ill. Beyond the physical characteristics affected by lead, comes mental. Small but subtle doses of the vital water can lower IQ levels, immediate initiate disabilities, disorders, and tentative behaviors (Adams). Following these minor effects come the more severe. Children sent to hospitals with lead poisoning, stunted growth, along with mothers of premature, and behavioral and learning problems (Greenblatt).…
With the known health consequences of lead exposure having been known since the 1800s, recent interest in environmental lead concentrations has sparked research projects. There has been grave concern by the medical community that a significant amount of children have elevated blood lead levels. The analysis could help to further reduce lead exposure and its corresponding potential for neurological…
Since 1995, Genesee Power Station, located next to an elementary school, has been releasing many chemical compounds into the atmosphere including nitrogen dioxide, lead, and carbon monoxide, all of which are results of burning wood covered in lead-based paint (Craven 1).Through the disproportionate exposure of lead and other toxic chemicals to the African-American community, this issue deals with not only class, but race. Companies have been planting their factories and unloading dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere and water sources, affecting the poor communities. It would be unusual to see this type of treatment towards predominantly white, affluent communities with power; they just would not let this happen to their community. However, this issue is not black and white. Others have said that the lead poisoning was due to factors other than pollution, including bad diet, second-hand smoke, lifestyle, or lack of health care (Craven 1).…
Flint, Michigan is a rather small city of about 99,000 people, with a majority (56.6%) of the population being African American and about 41.6% of residents living below the poverty line. Once the home of the United States’ largest General Motors plant, Flint’s economy suffered a major blow when General Motors downsized during the 1980s. A low budget, contaminated water source, and outdated infrastructure have led to a water crisis in Flint, Michigan which is a danger to local residents in regards to public concerns for health, loss of confidence in government, and a larger deficit. Once General Motors downsized their plant in Flint, Flint’s economy went downhill.…
The key to prevention is recognizing the symptoms. Lead poisoning or exposure to the toxic substance can cause a child's underdeveloped brain to underachieve, which results in low IQ and poor school performance (“Lead Poisoning”). Other symptoms that are more common internally would be effects on “a child's brain, kidneys, bone marrow, and other body systems” (U.S. President’s Task Force). In cases where children have experienced a significant amount of exposure, there are extreme physical symptoms, such as “severe abdominal pain and cramping, vomiting, muscle weakness, stumbling when walking, seizures, coma, encephalopathy, which manifests as confusion, coma and seizures” (“Lead Poisoning”). Lead is a toxic material with traumatic…
The article “The long shadow of Flint’s lead crisis” by Andis Robeznieks goes into the history of how this crisis started. Robeznieks starts by highlighting the towns decreasing economical stance that was brought to light in the film “Roger and Me” in 1989. He then explains that lead was found, almost a century ago, to reduce noise levels in engines by putting lead in the gasoline. Robeznieks then explains how the city tried to save money by disconnecting from Detroit 's water system, in doing this the citizens of Flint started getting their water from the Flint River, which made many residents sick enough to hire a scientist to examine the water to find high levels of lead in the River water, their homes, and in Children who were examined. Because of the documented and well proven facts of lead being toxic, in the 1970’s actions were directed to cut the lead out of paint and gas (Robeznieks).…
merged with General Motors to solve two main problems: the need for high compression engines and the insufficient supply of fuel. In 1921 chemist Charles F. Kettering assisted by Thomas Midgley added Tetraethyl lead to fuel the engine. The problem of knock, caused by auto-ignition of fuel being compresses past the ignition temperature, was completely silenced. Over time other manufacturers found out that by adding lead to fuel they could improve the octane rating of the gas. This then allowed them to produce much cheaper fuel but still maintain the needed crane ratings that a car’s engine needs.…