Flint Residents Research Articles

Voices from Flint: Community Perceptions of the Flint Water Crisis.

We describe the self-reported socioeconomic and health impacts, as well as the coping mechanisms employed by a drug-using cohort of adults during the Flint water crisis (FWC) in Flint, Michigan. Participants from an ongoing longitudinal Emergency Department study were contacted between April 2016 and July 2016 and completed a survey focusing on exposure, consequences, and coping strategies. One hundred thirty-three participants (mean age=26, 65% African-American, 61% public assistance) completed the survey (37.9% response rate). Of these, 75% reported exposure to water with elevated lead levels. Of these, 75% reported additional monthly expenses resulting from exposure. Almost 40% of parents reported changes in their children's health and 65% reported changes to their health since the FWC. Participants indicated the use of both positive (e.g., advice from trusted neighbors, 99.0%) and negative coping mechanisms (e.g., increased substance use, 20.0%) in response to this public health emergency. High-risk Flint residents reported multiple social, economic, and health-related consequences stemming from the FWC. Policymakers should consider additional resources for those affected, including increased access to mental health to aid recovery within the community.

Perceived Water Quality and Reported Health among Adults during the Flint, MI Water Crisis

Background and Purpose: In April 2014, the municipal water source for Flint, Michigan was changed from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Although residents reported concerns about the quality of tap water and resulting health problems, officials insisted that the water was safe. This study examined relationships between self-reported tap water quality during the water crisis and health conditions among Flint residents. Methods: Participants from each residential Census Tract in the City of Flint were recruited via address lists, online social media, and community-based events. The survey included mental and physical health items from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and an item on tap water quarter quality experiences. Analyses were weighted to be demographically representative. Results: Participants (N = 277) rated their tap water quality (taste, smell, appearance) as Poor (57%), Fair (20%), Good (13%), Very Good (6%), and Excellent (3%). Controlling for age, gender, years of education, whether respondents were African American or Hispanic/Latino/a, and population demographics, lower perceived tap water quality was associated with worse mental and physical health across all indicators. Conclusion: This study demonstrates associations of tap water quality experiences with reported poor physical and mental health among adults in Flint during the Flint Water Crisis.

Legal and Policy Interventions to Address Developmental and Mental Health Impacts of the Flint Water Crisis

Abstract The Flint, Michigan, water crisis, in which lead leached into the city's drinking water, has wreaked havoc on the developmental and mental health of Flint residents, with children being particularly vulnerable to the effects of the crisis. Lead exposure is linked to neurodevelopmental challenges in children, even at very low levels of exposure. In addition, disasters—both natural and manmade—can result in serious negative mental health consequences, such as post-traumatic stress and fear, anxiety, and depression. Given the wide-ranging and long-term nature of these risks, the developmental and mental health of Flint children must be prioritized through response efforts and spending. Proven, evidence-based treatment and interventions should be implemented to give children their best chance at overcoming the effects and trauma of lead exposure. This article examines responsive measures already initiated by federal, state, and local governments to address the negative health consequences of the cris...

We Helped Flint Residents Save Themselves and Are Proud of It-Staying in Our Ivory Tower Would Have Perpetuated Injustice.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUELetter to the EditorNEXTWe Helped Flint Residents Save Themselves and Are Proud of It—Staying in Our Ivory Tower Would Have Perpetuated InjusticeMarc A. Edwards* and Amy PrudenView Author Information Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States*Phone: (540) 231-7236; fax: (540) 231-7916; e-mail: [email protected]Cite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2016, 50, 22, 12057Publication Date (Web):November 4, 2016Publication History Received21 October 2016Accepted21 October 2016Published online4 November 2016Published inissue 15 November 2016https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05347Copyright © 2016 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views1364Altmetric-Citations1LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (144 KB) Get e-Alerts Get e-Alerts

Lead, Flint, and Grandfather

Blood lead levels of American children probably peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, thereafter declining sharply because of the mandated removal of lead from gasoline. Blood lead is associated with declining IQ, but puzzlingly, measured IQ of American children increased in the decades when lead was added to gas as well as in decades after it was removed. No level of blood lead is considered safe, but to put in perspective the alarming levels reported recently in Flint, MI, these are far lower than lead levels common in American children during the 1970s, and if there are consequent declines in IQ, they would be small. Flint, certainly not the worst lead contaminated area of the nation, was given inordinate attention by The New York Times beginning in January 2016, creating a national alarm as well as panic among Flint residents, already suffering the problems of a poor and degrading city. In early 2016, increasing news coverage “rode the waves” of the presidential primaries and the Black Lives Matter movement, then largely dropped from public attention by the summer, perhaps lessening the political pressure to relieve Flint.

False Assurances: The Effects of Corrosive Drinking Water and Noncompliance with Lead Control Policies in Flint, Michigan

Abstract Under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager, City of Flint residents were disconnected from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department (DWSD) and began drawing water from the Flint River for almost 18 months. This switch was met with opposition from residents who claimed that the water from the Flint River was unsafe. After concerns were confirmed by independent researchers and the Flint water crisis became a topic of national debate, City of Flint and state-level officials chose to switch back to the DWSD and vowed to repair the damage caused by regulatory neglect. In this article, I explore additional factors that might have contributed to the water crisis in Flint, namely the conditions of the plumbing within Flint Community Schools and the corrosive nature of the water before the water source switch in 2014. Based on evidence from City of Flint Water Department audits and recent Lead and Copper Rule compliance data from Flint Community Schools inspection reports, I found that the ch...

The Emergency Manager: Strategic Racism, Technocracy, and the Poisoning of Flint's Children

Abstract In April 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, began using water from the Flint River. The official reason to break Flint's long time contract with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department was financial efficiency; it was presented as a cost-cutting measure. Flint residents began immediately complaining about their water, complaints that were ignored. Thanks to the local activists, it was eventually discovered that the water was indeed corrosive, the city failed to treat it, and lead leached from the pipes into the water drunk by the city's children and families. By September 2015, the city was acknowledging the size of the health crisis this entailed, and in October 2015, Flint switched back to Detroit water. It was too late: the damage was done, and Flint's children have shown persistently high levels of lead—poisoned by a series of decisions that would never have been made in a majority white city. It is also now clear that relevant officials knew that the switch to the Flint River was in fact more expensive, both in the short term and the long term, than remaining with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department. Using Vesla Weaver's concept of frontlash, I argue that a technocratic ideology combined with a certain version of racism, resembling settler colonialism, is the cause of the tragedy.

Lead levels remain high in Flint’s water

The water chemistry is improving in Flint, Mich., but the city’s water is still breaking the federal rule for lead levels, according to tests led by Marc A. Edwards’s team at Virginia Tech. Edwards and his team helped expose the water crisis in Flint last year. They unveiled new results at a press conference on April 12 from samples collected by 174 Flint residents last month. These samples came from homes that the team also analyzed in its 2015 study. EPA and Michigan officials have taken steps to improve Flint’s water quality since Edwards and his colleagues showed that the city’s water was corroding pipes and leaching lead into the water. For example, Flint’s pipes once again carry treated water from Detroit, rather than treated Flint River water. The Detroit water is less corrosive than the river’s, in part, because it has lower chloride levels and contains an orthophosphate corrosion

Using an integrated approach to evaluate "Where do Flint's families play".

Once home to a thriving auto industry, Flint, Michigan, is now an economically distressed city of just over 100 000 people. With more than one-third of the population obese and one-third of the population younger than 18 years, it is essential to have safe spaces for children and families to be physically active. To address this, the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Flint Community Partnership (Partnership) worked to revitalize local parks and evaluate these efforts to effectively guide future park resource allocation, investments, and approaches to create a more equitable, vibrant parks system. After 2 years of initial park investments, 2 intervention parks (Max Brandon Park and Bassett Park) and 2 comparison parks (Brennan Park and Whaley Park) were selected for direct observation to determine whether parks that experienced investment had more use and users participating in higher levels of physical activity than in parks with no investment. In addition, the Partnership implemented community engagement strategies to hear residents' needs and desires for parks, as well as technical assessments such as a park facilities assessment, policy review, and equity analysis. Intervention parks had a higher number of uses and higher physical activity levels than comparison parks. This complemented community engagement results that highlighted people do not use parks that are perceived as unsafe and in poor condition. Even though demand for parks can be met with the current supply of park space, many parks had outdated and hazardous equipment; this, plus inconsistent maintenance, (perceived) lack of safety, and lack of activities were the main deterrents to using city parks for physical activity. Parks receiving investment had higher use and physical activity levels; thus, investing in park facilities and programming could increase opportunities for Flint residents to lead more active, healthy lifestyles.