Flint doesn't even have the highest lead levels in water in MI

[novasteve]

Yet it gets all the outrage so the left can target a rare republican in the state

Many Michigan cities have higher lead levels than Flint

 

[SeniorChief_Polock]

Mayor of Flint - Democrap.
Enough said.

 

[waltky]

G-men gonna investigate Flint water scandal...

FBI joins investigation on Flint’s tainted water
Thu, Feb 04, 2016 - HELP?: A veteran senator warned against adding to the US budget deficit to solve a ‘local and state problem,’ as lawmakers pushed for aid for Flint

The FBI on Tuesday said it was joining a criminal investigation of lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan, exploring whether laws were broken in a crisis that has captured international attention. Federal prosecutors in Michigan were working with an investigative team that included the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General and its Criminal Investigation Division, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office in Detroit said. An FBI spokeswoman said the agency was determining whether federal laws were broken, but declined further comment.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy met with officials and community leaders in Flint and told reporters she could not give a timeline for fixing the problem. She said the agency was examining where it might have fallen short, but declined to address the criminal probes. The city, about 100km northwest of Detroit, Michigan, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched the source of its tap water from Detroit’s system to the Flint River in April 2014. Flint switched back in October last year after tests found high levels of lead in blood samples taken from children. The more corrosive water from the river leached more lead from the city pipes than Detroit water did.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who extended a state of emergency in Flint until April 14, has repeatedly apologized for the poor handling of the matter. The ability to seek criminal charges under US environmental laws is limited, said Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit and a former federal prosecutor. Prosecutors would need to find something egregious like a knowingly false statement. “You need something that is false to build a case,” he said. Simply failing to recognize the seriousness of the situation would not rise to that level, he added.

MORE

 

[bucs90]

Uh....what? Then why is Flint such an outrage?

 

[waltky]

Smoking gun email...

Michigan emails show officials knew of Flint water disease risk
Thu Feb 4, 2016 - Emails between high-ranking Michigan state officials show they knew about an uptick in Legionnaires' disease and it could be linked to problems with Flint water long before Governor Rick Snyder said he got information on the outbreak.

A spokesman for Snyder rejected the report by the liberal group Progress Michigan on Thursday. Emails obtained by the group show Snyder's principal aide, Harvey Hollins, was made aware of the outbreak and a possible link to the use of Flint River water last March. Snyder said in January he had just learned about the rise in Legionnaires cases. "Are we to believe that a top staffer with years of experience would not inform Governor Snyder of a possibly deadly situation?" Progress Michigan Executive Director Lonnie Scott said in a statement.

The group cited an email from March 13, 2015, that showed Hollins and Dan Wyant, the former head of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), were aware of the increase in Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County, where Flint is located, and that a county health official was attributing the cases to the Flint River. State officials on Jan. 13 announced the spike in the disease resulting in 10 deaths possibly linked to the water crisis. In rejecting the group's claims, a spokesman for Snyder said that the DEQ emails called attributing the link to problems with Flint water "beyond irresponsible."

The front of the Flint Water Plant is seen in Flint, Michigan​

Hollins asked the department to investigate and if the concerns were credible it was to tell Snyder, the spokesman said in an email. "The issue was not brought to the Governor’s attention until January of this year," he said. Flint, a city near Detroit, was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager when it switched the source of its tap water from Detroit's system to the Flint River in April 2014.

The city switched back last October after tests found high levels of lead in children's blood samples. The more corrosive water from the river leached more lead from the city pipes than Detroit water did. Lead is a toxic agent that can damage the nervous system. Legionnaires is a type of pneumonia caused by inhaling mist infected with the bacteria Legionella.. Several Democratic lawmakers on Thursday invited Snyder to Washington to testify on the Flint water crisis on Feb. 10.

Michigan emails show officials knew of Flint water disease risk

 

[ScienceRocks]

Uh....what? Then why is Flint such an outrage?

Because the goddamn government needs to do its ******* job and fix the problem.

 

[EverCurious]

RE: plumbers installing filters discussion - With this new bit about the "new" water being more corrosive I was able to hunt this down - Corrosive Water Problems (Water Quality) ~ Thus it's possible that a simple pH adjustment at the main intake line could actually resolve the problem for Flint homes.

"Treatment units such as neutralizing filters or chemical feed systems can be installed to reduce water corrosivity by adding alkaline chemicals to the water. Since corrosion affects the entire plumbing system, these treatment devices are installed where the water enters the home to treat all of the household water (Point-of-Entry or POE).

Acid neutralizing filters are very simple water treatment units that are intended to increase pH and add calcium thereby decreasing corrosivity. They consist of a tank filled with calcium carbonate (limestone) chips, marble chips, magnesium oxide, or other alkaline material. The acid neutralizing filter is usually installed after the pressure tank. Raw water flows through the tank and as it contacts the media, its pH is increased and corrosivity decreased. It is important to note that this process will increase the hardness of the water but this is necessary for proper corrosion control. Also, the resistance of the neutralizing material may lower water pressure.

Frequent maintenance is required for neutralizing filters. The tank must be routinely refilled with neutralizing material as it is dissolved. The rate of refilling can range from weeks to months depending on the raw water corrosivity, water use, and the type of neutralizing material. Backwashing is recommended to remove trapped particles and oxidized metals unless a sediment filter is installed ahead of the unit.

Corrosivity can also be treated by injecting a sodium hydroxide or soda ash solution using a chemical feed pump before the pressure tank. This treatment system is simple and inexpensive and it does not increase water hardness. Since the unit is installed ahead of the pressure tank, there is no reduction in water pressure that sometimes occurs with neutralizing filters. There is significant maintenance including filling solution tanks and maintaining the feed pump. Soda ash is preferred over sodium hydroxide because it is safer to handle. Sodium hydroxide is extremely caustic and must be handled using accepted safety practices."


I did notice in this article here it states that lead pipes were not made illegal until 1991... I'm going to look into if that was just PA or what, because I could swear I was told that if your home was built after 1978 you didn't have to worry about lead... Was it /really/ just lead paint that was banned and not lead pipes?!?

 

[EverCurious]

^^ oops mixed up my threads, relevant but it wasn't in this thread, sorry bout that.

 

[jc456]

Uh....what? Then why is Flint such an outrage?

Because the goddamn government needs to do its ******* job and fix the problem.

so excuse me for being a bit late to this, but what exactly is the problem? I am very confused by this entire ordeal. Where are the lead pipes at? Didn't they exist when Flint received Detroit water? What the fk?

 

[candycorn]

It's a time honored tradition; a republican says they can "fix" something, saves a few pennies and later on when the shoddy work, poor execution and poor planning come to fruition; you have citizens getting sick or dying.

This is a bit different...usually the guy is out of office and lining his pockets in the private sector when the shit hits the fan.

 

[hadit]

If there's no Republican to blame, it didn't happen.

 

[candycorn]

If there's no Republican to blame, it didn't happen.

332-206

It happened.