![]() Its damage is irreversible, and it can have a profound and lasting effect on children.įlint and lead poisoning: Living with it and uncertainty, long-term Lead is a deadly toxin that affects the brain and nervous system. In places such as Flint, with aging infrastructure, many times that means lead pipes begin leaching lead into the water. Without corrosion control, water eats away at the pipes that carry it to people’s homes. But Walters, who had taken to spending nights and weekends researching water chemistry on her computer at home, checked the city utility operational reports and found that orthophosphate, the chemical used across the country for corrosion control, wasn’t on the list of chemicals being added to Flint’s water. When Walters made the call to the EPA, she was connected to scientist Miguel Del Toral, the only person in government who Walters considers a hero in this story.ĭel Toral had been assured by the state of Michigan that Flint’s water had “optimal” corrosion control. coli.īut for several months, Hedman did little to fix the problems. It had been a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria such as Legionella and E. ![]() The water there had become tainted with lead and other toxins. It has become clear the EPA did not live up to its mission in Flint. Hedman resigned in January amid the crisis. Instead, when EPA Region 5 Director Susan Hedman found out about the astronomically high levels of lead in Flint water, emails show she tried to keep it under wraps. Walters was confident the agency would come in, find answers and fix things – quickly. So she turned to the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal government agency that regulates drinking water. ![]() “We had to figure out what was going on,” she said. In the spring of 2015, LeeAnne Walters had been getting the runaround from local officials about the brown water that was flowing from the taps in Flint. ![]()
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