As we approach the ten-year anniversary of the exposure of the Flint, Michigan water crisis–one of the most dangerous and widespread cases of contaminated water in modern U.S. history–it’s more important than ever to reflect on how such a disaster came about, and how we can prevent it from happening again. I was recently fortunate enough to read a book that discussed the crisis, a memoir called “What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City” by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who became the whistleblower for the catastrophe in Flint. I remember my feminist brain being excited to discover that the primary scientific mind that brought about change was a woman, especially a woman of color. As I got more into the story, my fascination with this incredible woman only grew. Dr. Hanna-Attisha not only backed up her information and discoveries with scientific facts, but she pushed through countless obstacles and naysayers to advocate for something she cared deeply about. She defied all odds and brought about change in her community, and she also emerged as a reminder that activism doesn’t need to be an exclusive practice. Anyone can be an activist–all you need is passion and determination to make your point heard.
The problem in Flint first arrived months before anyone noticed anything was wrong. As an effort to save money, the city of Flint switched their water from the Detroit supply to a new system coming from a local lake. Residents of Flint weren’t very fond of the idea. The lake wasn’t very large, and was nowhere near the quality or quantity of water that was coming in from the Detroit system, which draws from various sources, including Lake Huron and Lake Erie. They would soon find out just how right they were.
The problem with the new water was that, unlike Detroit water, it was very corrosive. That was a problem because the pipes in Flint were, like most pipes, old and made up of miles and miles of metal containing lead. The corrosivity of the water broke down the protective mineral layers within the pipes that were preventing lead from entering the water itself.
We all know lead is bad for people, but what few people realize is that any amount of lead, no matter how small, leads to permanent, irreversible brain and nervous system damage. So, once a person has had any exposure to lead, whether it’s through water, paint, or other forms of contamination, the damage is done. This clearly presents a problem when an entire city–over 80,000 people–were using contaminated water to clean, cook, and drink. Dr. Hanna-Attisha first became aware of this when a friend of hers mentioned the possibility of corrosive water in Flint pipes, so she began paying more attention to measuring blood lead levels in her young patients, particularly those under 5 years old, which is when the most crucial part of brain development happens. What she found was astounding–40% of kids had blood lead levels up to 5 times higher than the recommended “safe” amount. She knew that she had to do something, and quickly.
After sending email after email to the Public Health Department and hearing nothing back, Dr. Hanna-Attisha realized that she would need to take matters into her own hands. She and her colleagues began to set up a study observing childrens’ blood lead levels over time, both before the water switch and after. What the study found was consistent with her initial observations–the children in Flint were drinking poisoned water.
After the study had been performed, Dr. Hanna-Attisha and her team went to the mayor of Flint at the time, Dayne Walling, hoping for his support in fixing the water problem. They told the mayor that they were planning to release the results of their study, and wanted to give him an opportunity to endorse the study and make a public effort to fix Flint’s water problem. Unfortunately, Mayor Walling chose not to acknowledge the study publicly alongside its release, and Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s team was forced to proceed without his support.
Once the study was published and the word about the lead contamination was public knowledge, things finally began to take off. The Public Health department, the CDC, and the EPA immediately tried to refute the study, denying that any shortcuts were taken and that the water in Flint was safe to drink. Mostly, Dr. Hanna-Attisha faced questions about the validity of her information because it hadn’t been peer reviewed yet. Technically, before a study can be considered scientifically sound, it needs to be reviewed by a panel of experts. This takes time, though, something Dr. Hanna-Attisha knew the children in Flint didn’t have.
Still, despite its lack of peer review, the results of the study were pretty clear– Flint had a lead problem, not in the paint like many people would assume, but in the water. After attending meeting after meeting, performing interview after interview, and having her entire career and livelihood questioned by those who were supposed to be there to support her, Dr. Hanna-Attisha finally started to see rewards for her hard work. On October 16, 2015, a year and a half after the city first switched their water supply, Flint returned to Detroit water.
While this was a huge step in the right direction, lead poisoning in Flint was still an issue. Now that the lead pipes were exposed, any water, even the non-corrosive Detroit water, would be contaminated by lead. Since 2016, the city of Flint has been attempting to replace as many pipes as possible, but the process is a long, arduous one, and there are still plenty of homes in Flint that are still 100% reliant on bottled water, nearly 10 years after the switch.
How did such a huge problem go undiscovered and undealt with for over a year? There are quite a few possibilities. From underprepared government officials to corrupt city health offices, Flint’s contaminated water was an extremely well-kept secret until Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha chose to not only pay very close attention to her patients’ health, but also to question the authorities assuring her that she was wrong. What resulted was an extremely inspiring story about how one woman took on issues of environmental racism and classism, selfish motivations from the higher-ups, and an onslaught of media abuse to fight for what she believed in. We can all learn something from her story, and I hope that she’ll be remembered as one of the most important and inspiring medical professionals in U.S. history–a true American hero.