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by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Despite a century of knowledge on the dangers of lead poisoning, dozens of studies showing the impacts of lead on children’s development, and high-profile humanitarian disasters like the 2014 Flint Water Crisis, millions of Americans are still being exposed to lead in their drinking water. What’s worse: new studies […]
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by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Yesterday, former Michigan governor, Rick Snyder, was criminally charged in connection to the 2014 Flint water crisis that led to 12 deaths, dozens of illnesses, and left hundreds of residents of the predominantly Black city without drinkable water. Several Michigan government officials have been criminally charged since then, including […]
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This week the vulnerabilities in the nation’s drinking water supplies once again came into full view. In California, a study for the state’s water resources control board revealed that 60% of California’s public water supply wells contain toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals. Meanwhile, citizens in Flint, Michigan filed a lawsuit on behalf of 2,600 children claiming that three big banks that were funding a pipeline project caused the city to rely on the Flint River as a temporary water source.
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Lake Jackson, Texas, a city in the greater Houston area, is “purg[ing] its water system for 60 days” after a brain-eating amoeba killed a 6-year old boy, NBC News reported. The city is currently under a boil-water notice, and officials have announced that it could take as long as 3 months to make the water safe.
Why This Matters: There is little data on the risk of this amoeba, says the CDC. More information is needed on how “a standard might be set to protect human health and how public health officials would measure and enforce such a standard.”
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The New York Times late last night broke the story that the State of Michigan has agreed to pay close to $600 million to victims of the Flint water crisis, in a settlement that will be announced later this week.
Why This Matters: Children with elevated levels of lead in their blood are more likely to have learning disabilities and increased behavioral difficulties — it causes irreversible damage to children’s development, according to the report. Lead is unsafe at any level. It’s time to get the lead out of our environment.
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Last night former Vice President Joe Biden handily won the Michigan primary, defeating Senator Bernie Sanders and amassing 53 delegates to Sanders 35. As of writing this last night Biden also claimed Idaho, Mississippi, and Missouri while Washington State and North Dakota had not fully reported their votes. Michigan was arguably the most important state […]
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