Some people view a glass as half full, and others see it as half empty, but sometimes the water is just too dirty for it to matter. Flint, a city nestled between three of the Great Lakes in Michigan, is facing a critical water crisis causing serious concern amongst the residents. In a city that already has a 13.6 year lower life expectancy than the rest of the Michigan state, solutions and action are needed immediately.
A water sample study, carried out by Virginia Tech, revealed alarmingly high levels of lead, with readings ranging from 200 parts per billion (ppb) to 13,200 ppb. To understand the magnitude of these findings, let’s take a look at the recommendations and effects of lead.
According to the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) of lead is 10 ppb, while the Environmental Protection Agency has a lead concentration regulation of zero in drinking water, as there is no safe lead consumption level. Therefore, Flint’s water samples exceeded the MAC by 20 to over 1,300 times!
Clean drinking water is an essential part of our lives. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
As a result, the citizens of Flint have been exposed to dangerously high levels of lead, which cause toxicity and a long list of health problems. No body system is spared from lead poisoning, as severe damage to the kidneys, joints, bone marrow, and cardiovascular system is debilitating and permanent. Additionally, the digestive and urinary tract, brain and nervous system, and reproductive organs are also highly susceptible to irreversible damage.
The video below contains a brief overview of what occurs when lead is ingested.
Courtesy of YouTube Video: Discovery Channel’s “HowStuffWorks”
Perhaps even more concerning, is the vulnerability of a child’s body to lead ingestion. Since lead tricks the body into thinking it is an essential element (such as calcium, for example), a child’s absorption is four to five times higher than that of an adult. In fact, a study published in December, 2015, found the levels of lead in children’s blood to have doubled in concentration compared to the levels recorded in 2013 in Flint residents under the age of five. In addition to the effects previously mentioned, a child can also suffer from delays and disturbances in development, both physically and mentally, such as a low IQ.
Evidently, the water in Flint is not suitable for drinking, and according to pediatricians involved in the care of patients in this area, only time will tell the full extent and consequences of this massive lead contamination. Ensuring that successful, cost-effective, and easily-implemented water treatment systems are available and functioning at acceptable standards is clearly a crucial aspect to the well-being and health of a community.
Kerrie Tsigounis
