Who is flint

Health effects of lead exposure in children include impaired cognition, behavioral disorders, hearing problems and delayed puberty. A class-action lawsuit charged that the state wasn't treating the water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. As a result, the water was eroding the iron water mains, turning the water brown.

Additionally, about half of the service lines to homes in Flint are made of lead and because the water wasn't properly treated, lead began leaching into the water supply, in addition to the iron. Overall, more than a dozen lawsuits, including several additional class-action suits, were filed against Michigan and the city of Flint , as well as various state and city officials and employees involved in the decision to switch the source of the drinking water and those responsible for monitoring water quality.

The range of remedies sought included monetary compensation for lead poisoning and refunds for water bills. March 22, - Genesee County announces a new pipeline is being designed to deliver water from Lake Huron to Flint. April 16, - On the city council's recommendation, Andy Dillon, the state treasurer, authorizes Flint to make the switch to Flint River water. April 25, - The switch to water from the Flint River takes place.

August 14, - The city announces fecal coliform bacterium has been detected in the water supply, prompting a boil water advisory for a neighborhood on the west side of Flint. The city boosts the amount of chlorine in the water and flushes the system. The advisory is lifted on August September 5, - Flint issues another boil water advisory after a positive test for total coliform bacteria. The presence of this type of bacteria is a warning sign that E. City officials tell residents they will flush the pipes and add more chlorine to the water.

After four days, residents are told they can safely resume drinking water from the tap. Among the problems are leaking valves and aging cast iron pipes susceptible to a buildup of bacteria. The MDEQ concludes flushing the system and increasing chlorine in the water will limit the number of boil water advisories in the future.

October - The General Motors plant in Flint stops using the city's water due to concerns about high levels of chlorine corroding engine parts. The company strikes a deal with a neighboring township to purchase water from Lake Huron in lieu of using water from the Flint River.

January 2, - The city warns residents the water contains byproducts of disinfectants that may cause health issues including an increased risk for cancer over time. The water is deemed safe for the general population, but the elderly and parents of young children are cautioned to consult with their doctors. January 21, - Residents tote jugs of discolored water to a community forum. The Detroit Free Press reports children are developing rashes and suffering from mysterious illnesses.

In a background paper submitted to Governor Rick Snyder, the MDEQ states that elevated TTHM levels are not an immediate health emergency because the risk of disease increases only after years of consumption.

A mother of four, she had first contacted the EPA with concerns about dark sediment in her tap water possibly making her children sick. Testing revealed that her water had parts per billion ppb of lead, nearly seven times greater than the EPA limit of 15 ppb.

March 18, - Walters follows up with the EPA after another test indicates the lead level in her water is ppb. March 23, - Flint City Council members vote to stop using river water and to reconnect with Detroit.

However, state-appointed emergency manager Jerry Ambrose overrules the vote, calling it "incomprehensible," claiming that costs would skyrocket and that "water from Detroit is no safer than water from Flint. June 5, - A group of clergymen and activists files a lawsuit against the city, charging that the river water is a health risk. The city attorney later says the lawsuit is baseless. The case is dismissed in September.

June 24, - An EPA manager issues a memo, "High Lead Levels in Flint," warning that the city is not providing corrosion control treatment to mitigate the presence of lead in drinking water. According to the memo, scientists at Virginia Tech tested tap water from Walters' home and found the lead level was as high as 13, ppb. Water contaminated with 5, ppb of lead is classified by the EPA as hazardous waste. Three other homes also have high lead levels in the water, according to the memo.

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling drinks a cup of tap water on a local television report to ensure residents that it is safe. I really don't think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. Can you take a moment out of your impossible schedule to personally take a look at this? August 17, - The MDEQ orders Flint to optimize corrosion control treatment in the water supply after state testing from the first six months of reveals elevated lead levels.

September 9, - The EPA announces it will assist Flint in developing a corrosion control treatment for the water. If the tools were broken or damaged in use, they were often reshaped into smaller tools of similar function. Flint Knife: A lithic knife made from flint. The value of flint for making sharp tools was discovered and utilized by Stone Age people in almost every early culture located where flint could easily be found. Where flint was not locally available, people often travelled or traded to obtain premade tools or pieces of flint for manufacturing.

Their survival depended upon having a durable material that could be used to produce sharp tools. Ohio Flint: The Vanport Flint has been quarried by people for at least 12, years.

It outcrops in a layer between one and twelve feet thick along Flint Ridge in eastern Ohio. Native Americans produced the flint from hundreds of quarries along the ridge. Some of these people travelled hundreds of miles to collect the flint, used it to make a variety of tools and weapons, and traded it widely throughout what is now the eastern United States. One of the most important localities for flint in eastern North America is Flint Ridge in eastern Ohio.

Native Americans discovered this deposit and produced flint from hundreds of small quarries along the ridge. They travelled hundreds of miles to collect it and spread the distinctive material in trade across eastern North America.

It has been found as artifacts as far south as the Gulf of Mexico and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. The best way to learn about rocks is to have specimens available for testing and examination.

Over quarries can still be seen today. These were all dug by hand without metal tools. Alibates flint: The Alibates Flint has been used by people of southwestern North America for about 13, years. The quarries used by these people have been preserved as part of the Alibates Flint Quarry National Monument. In the area that is now the Texas panhandle, Native Americans discovered an area where weathered flint littered the ground.

This flint was weathering out of a dolomite beneath the thin soil cover. These people discovered that fresh, unweathered flint of high quality could be obtained by digging down a few feet. From about 13, years ago into the 's, this area was continuously mined for the high-quality flint. The flint was used to produce projectile points, scrapers, knives, and other stone tools.

In the 's the flint was also mined for use as gunflints. Over small quarries are still visible today and have been preserved as part of the Alibates Flint National Monument. Perhaps the most impressive story about flint is that of the ancient mining complexes that were built in what is now England during Neolithic times.

These excavations began about BC and continued until the widespread use of metals about 2, years later. One flint mining complex of particular note was Grime's Graves located near Brandon, England. Here ancient miners dug shafts down through 40 feet of Cretaceous chalk to a layer of high-quality flint below.

Each shaft was several feet in diameter and required the removal of about 2, tonnes of chalk. Most of the digging was done without metal tools, using red deer antlers as picks. Each shaft required a team of workers and took several months to construct. About 60 tons of flint could be removed from each of these pits and the short horizontal excavations that followed the high-quality flint layer at the base. Starting about BC until about BC, these miners built over shafts over an area of about acres and removed thousands of tons of flint.

Although these mining operations were amazing feats of engineering, just as impressive was the geological understanding of the workers. Ensuring that the provisions of the settlement are met is an ongoing task. Indeed, members of the lawsuit have already returned to court to see that the city properly manages its lead service line replacement program and provides filters for faucets.

Governor Snyder seemed to signal the all-clear in April when he announced that the city would stop providing bottled water to residents. Indeed, there is some evidence that the situation in Flint is improving, with lead levels remaining below the federal action level for the past four six-month monitoring periods, from July to June However, it is important to note that thousands of Flint residents are still getting their water from lead pipes.

The federal action level for lead is not a health-based number; it merely is an administrative trigger for remediation by the water utility. The EPA and other health authorities agree that there is no safe level of lead in water, so the continuing use of lead pipes by thousands of Flint residents remains a concern, particularly in light of their cumulative lead exposure over many years. The FAST Start program implemented by the city in March is working to replace the thousands of lead and galvanized steel service lines that connect Flint water mains to city homes by But as of October , only a little more than 7, pipes had been upgraded.

The slow pace of progress drew the group of residents working with NRDC back to court to demand that Flint comply with its obligations to identify and replace lead pipes and supply filters to residents after each pipe replacement. Over the course of his investigation, 15 people have been charged as criminally responsible for causing or contributing to the crisis. Meanwhile, Governor Snyder has not been charged with any crime.

Easy to melt and malleable, lead is a heavy metal that has been used by people for millennia. The Romans added it to makeup, cookware, and paint and even consumed it as a sweet seasoning and preservative in wine.

They used lead in the pipes for their famous baths as well as their aqueducts. Not surprisingly, the word plumbing is a derivative of plumbum , the Latin word for lead. Yet then as now, lead exposure was linked to serious health impacts—even madness and death. Modern science shows that even low levels of lead can impair the brain development of fetuses, infants, and young children.

The damage can reverberate for a lifetime, reducing IQ and physical growth and contributing to anemia, hearing impairment, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral problems. Large doses of lead exposure in adults has been linked to high blood pressure, heart and kidney disease, and reduced fertility. Pure lead pipes, solder, and fittings were banned from U.

Far more than pipes were corroded during the Flint water crisis. Fortunately, a majority of Americans have access to safe water, a luxury most of us probably enjoy with little thought.

A recent NRDC analysis found thousands of community water systems have violated federal drinking water laws, including the Lead and Copper Rule, which provides safeguards against lead. To protect our water supplies, it is crucial that we upgrade our nationwide water infrastructure, prioritizing the replacement of an estimated 6.