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Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

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Re: Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

#4
>Since state austerity policies initiated a potable water crisis seven years ago in Flint, Michigan, public health monitoring has focused on potential developmental deficits associated with lead exposure in adolescents or fetuses exposed in utero.

Here, we have the rare headline that actually undersells the story the body is telling. Wouldn't hurt to change the title to highlight the developmental issues the scientists are investigating.

Re: Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

#5
post #4

>Since state austerity policies initiated a potable water crisis seven years ago in Flint, Michigan, public health monitoring has focused on potential developmental deficits associated with lead exposure in adolescents or fetuses exposed in utero. Here, we have the rare headline that actually undersells the story the body is telling. Wouldn't hurt to change the title to highlight the developmental issues the scientis…

Well. I think the developmental deficits are an already told story. What's "new" is study of adults showing they're also affected. It's kind of a "duh" thing, i.e. most people wouldn't be cool with drinking heavily lead tainted water, even if it's "less harmful" in adults or whatever. But the story here is that they studied it, and lo, the conventional wisdom that it doesn't harm adults doesn't pan out. Turns out poisoning a city is bad for its inhabitants.

Re: Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

#6
This did boil down to where the problem mostly wasn't with the supply, right? That is, the problem was with lead pipes from the water meter to the houses/apartments? Not excusing everything the city did wrong, but I can see why that would have complicated everything and made resolution such a long process.

Re: Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

#7
post #2

Shocker. When something you need to live is instead actually tainted with poison, that might take a toll.

The study looked at what the effects on the population were, and how they were modified by demographic factors etc., not the unsurprising fact that there were health effects. But you knew that, right?

Re: Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

#8
How common is the use of water purifiers in the West? Here in India, in my observation, most middle class and above families own a household water filter of some sort (electrical or otherwise) and routinely fill up bottles for drinking purposes. Drinking straight from the tap is something very uncommon.

Re: Water crisis took toll on Flint adults’ physical, mental health

#9
post #6

This did boil down to where the problem mostly wasn't with the supply, right? That is, the problem was with lead pipes from the water meter to the houses/apartments? Not excusing everything the city did wrong, but I can see why that would have complicated everything and made resolution such a long process.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-y...

> This precipitated the tragic decision in 2013 to end the city’s five-decade practice of piping treated water for its residents from Detroit in favor of a cheaper alternative: temporarily pumping water from the Flint River until a new water pipeline from Lake Huron was built. Although the river water was highly corrosive, Flint officials failed to treat it, and lead leached out from aging pipes into thousands of homes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_water_crisis#Lead_exposu...

> The documents falsely claim that the city had tested tap water from homes with lead service lines, and therefore the highest lead-poisoning risks; however, the city did not know the locations of lead service lines, which city officials acknowledged in November 2015 after the Flint Journal/MLive published an article revealing the practice, using documents obtained under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. The Journal/MLive reported that the city had "disregarded federal rules requiring it to seek out homes with lead plumbing for testing, potentially leading the city and state to underestimate for months the extent of toxic lead leaching into Flint's tap water."

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