March 17, 2016
Flint, Michigan Plays the Blame Game
by THS Media Abbie Pena
Water in its purity and transparent value is considered an essential liquid to any living organism. Water. A basic human necessity but is it a human right?
In Flint, Mich. drinking water has become a total nightmare. Due to corrosive Flint River water caused by old rusted lead pipes which have tainted the city water supply.
Contaminated water has deadly consequences, among these residues Legionnaires’ Disease. Legionnaires’ Disease is a type of pneumonia caused by any strain of the Legionella bacteria. Exposure to the bacteria cause symptoms of fever, chills and cough which can attribute to phlegm. Although these symptoms sound like typical pneumonia in children, elderly and persons with weak immune systems Legionnaires’ Disease can lead to respiratory failure and in some extreme cases death. In fact, according to an article by healthychildren.org five to 15 percent of untreated Legionnaires’ Disease results in fatality.
In fact according to Environmental Activist and Legal Clerk Erin Brockovich, “So many thousands of children are going to be poisoned by this lead that's gonna impact them for the rest of their life. We’ll probably never be able to permanently remove the lead. You could be looking at neurological conditions and learning disabilities. This is a problem for Flint, Michigan seeing as 6,000 to 12,000 children have already been exposed to the local stagnant drinking water."
Death, disease and disabilities all caused by water. The Flint, Mich. Water Crisis has caused not only anguish but also many lawsuits. A troop of charged Flint citizens have taken the initiative to file two class-action lawsuit against Governor Rick Snyder, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The request included a water shut-off and allow Flint water users to be waived from paying past or future bills on stagnant water. However other court cases seek to hold the state government officials personally accountable for the “man-made” catastrophe and claim that the officials responsible must cover the cost of losses in property value. Although accidents happen, the gravity of some hold more weight than others. Should the State Officials of Flint, Mich. accept full responsibility and consequences for the water crisis or should the attention be turned joining forces to provide relief and solve the crisis instead of playing the alleged blame-game.
In Flint, Mich. drinking water has become a total nightmare. Due to corrosive Flint River water caused by old rusted lead pipes which have tainted the city water supply.
Contaminated water has deadly consequences, among these residues Legionnaires’ Disease. Legionnaires’ Disease is a type of pneumonia caused by any strain of the Legionella bacteria. Exposure to the bacteria cause symptoms of fever, chills and cough which can attribute to phlegm. Although these symptoms sound like typical pneumonia in children, elderly and persons with weak immune systems Legionnaires’ Disease can lead to respiratory failure and in some extreme cases death. In fact, according to an article by healthychildren.org five to 15 percent of untreated Legionnaires’ Disease results in fatality.
In fact according to Environmental Activist and Legal Clerk Erin Brockovich, “So many thousands of children are going to be poisoned by this lead that's gonna impact them for the rest of their life. We’ll probably never be able to permanently remove the lead. You could be looking at neurological conditions and learning disabilities. This is a problem for Flint, Michigan seeing as 6,000 to 12,000 children have already been exposed to the local stagnant drinking water."
Death, disease and disabilities all caused by water. The Flint, Mich. Water Crisis has caused not only anguish but also many lawsuits. A troop of charged Flint citizens have taken the initiative to file two class-action lawsuit against Governor Rick Snyder, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The request included a water shut-off and allow Flint water users to be waived from paying past or future bills on stagnant water. However other court cases seek to hold the state government officials personally accountable for the “man-made” catastrophe and claim that the officials responsible must cover the cost of losses in property value. Although accidents happen, the gravity of some hold more weight than others. Should the State Officials of Flint, Mich. accept full responsibility and consequences for the water crisis or should the attention be turned joining forces to provide relief and solve the crisis instead of playing the alleged blame-game.