A Case Study of Environmental Injustice: The Failure in Flint.
The failure by the city of Flint, Michigan to properly treat its municipal water system after a change in the source of water, has resulted in elevated lead levels in the city's water and an increase in city children's blood lead levels. Lead exposure in young children can lead to decrements in intelligence, development, behavior, attention and other neurological functions. This lack of ability to provide safe drinking water represents a failure to protect the public's health at various governmental levels. This article describes how the tragedy happened, how low-income and minority populations are at particularly high risk for lead exposure and environmental injustice, and ways that we can move forward to prevent childhood lead exposure and lead poisoning, as well as prevent future Flint-like exposure events from occurring. Control of the manufacture and use of toxic chemicals to prevent adverse exposure to these substances is also discussed. Environmental injustice occurred throughout the Flint water contamination incident and there are lessons we can all learn from this debacle to move forward in promoting environmental justice.
Department of Public Health Sciences, Room 408, College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave, El Paso, TX 79968, USA. ccampbell3@utep.edu.
Carla
C
Campbell
National Nurse-led Care Consortium (NNCC), Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. rgreenberg@nncc.us.
Rachael
R
Greenberg
Research and Evaluation Group, Public Health Management Corporation, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. dmankikar@phmc.org.
Deepa
D
Mankikar
Occupational and Environmental Medicine Consultant, Las Cruces, NM 88001, USA. ronald.d.ross40.civ@mail.mil.
Ronald D
RD
Ross
Flint water crisis; environmental justice; lead poisoning; water contamination
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