Federal Environmental laws like the Safe Drinking Water Act allow the Environmental Protection Agency to set standards to protect the
public.
In regards to the entire population, lead levels cannot
exceed a certain amount in your water because it is widely know that it
negatively impacts the brain and central nervous system. WHO provides
information about that here.
In Flint residents were cited as complaining about rashes
and strange odors as well as the discoloration of the water. You can't see, or taste lead in your water, so it must be tested to know for certain. In this case it
seems that the water source, although switched had caused the pipes to continue
leaching lead. This can be taken care of with water sampling and lead shows up
in the blood. Elevated levels were found in Flint’s children last year.
As details continue to come out in this case, I feel that the situation was mishandled on
many fronts. To protect yourself the CDC provides resources about lead and monitoring information
here.
-XOXO
I've been following this story for some time now, before all the donations began to pour in. My heart truly goes out to the residents of Flint and all those who have been affected. This entire situation is so wrong, disheartening, and angering on so many levels that I don't even know where to begin. The governor needs to be held responsible for this and he needs to be prosecuted in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSo true. I made this post short because otherwise it would have turn into an angry rant. It's inexcusable. Water is essential to life. Plus we are in the UNITED STATES, not a developing country. I think it has really opened people's eyes to the fact that there are areas of people living and being treated like they aren't a part of the US.
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