Press Release Sanders: Michigan Governor Must Resign over Flint Lead-Poisoning Crisis January 16, 2016 Twitter 
 
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 BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Saturday called on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to resign for his administration’s failure to deal with a lead-poisoning crisis that has sickened thousands of children in Flint, Michigan. 
 
 “There are no excuses. The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead. Gov. Snyder should resign,” Sanders said. 
 
 Problems with Flint’s public water system date to a decision nearly two years ago by a receiver, appointed by the governor, who decided to cut costs by drawing the city’s drinking water from the polluted Flint River instead of from Lake Huron. 
 
 The governor and other state officials knew – but did not acknowledge until last fall – that the river water was corroding pipes and causing lead to leach into the drinking water. The decision not to add chemicals to prevent corrosion of the pipes was made at the direction of the governor’s Department of Environmental Quality. The state health department in Michigan apparently knew about elevated lead levels in the blood of children but did not warn the public. 
 
 “Because of the conduct by Gov. Snyder’s administration and his refusal to take responsibility, families will suffer from lead poisoning for the rest of their lives. Children in Flint will be plagued with brain damage and other health problems. The people of Flint deserve more than an apology,” Sanders said. ||||| A look at some of the key events in the development of the Flint water crisis: 
 
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 APRIL 2014: In an effort to save money, Flint begins drawing its water from the Flint River instead of relying on water from Detroit. The move is considered temporary while the city waits to connect to a new regional water system. Residents immediately complain about the smell, taste and appearance of the water. They also raise health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems. 
 
 SUMMER 2014: Three boil-water advisories are issued in 22 days after positive tests for coliform bacteria. 
 
 OCTOBER 2014: A General Motors engine plant stops using Flint water, saying it rusts parts. 
 
 JANUARY 2015: Flint seeks an evaluation of its efforts to improve the water amid concerns that it contains potentially harmful levels of a disinfection byproduct. Detroit offers to reconnect Flint to its water system. Flint insists its water is safe. 
 
 JAN. 28: Flint residents snap up 200 cases of bottled water in 30 minutes in a giveaway program. More giveaways will follow in ensuing months. 
 
 FEB. 3: State officials pledge $2 million for Flint's troubled water system. 
 
 FEBRUARY: A 40-member advisory committee is formed to address concerns over Flint's water. Mayor Dayne Walling says the committee will ensure the community is involved in the issue. 
 
 MARCH 19: Flint promises to spend $2.24 million on immediate improvements to its water supply. 
 
 MARCH 27: Flint officials say the quality of its water has improved and that testing finds the water meets all state and federal standards for safety. 
 
 SEPT. 24: A group of doctors led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of Hurley Medical Center urges Flint to stop using the Flint River for water after finding high levels of lead in the blood of children. State regulators insist the water is safe. 
 
 SEPT. 29: Gov. Rick Snyder pledges to take action in response to the lead levels. It's the first acknowledgment by the state that lead is a problem. 
 
 OCT. 2: Snyder announces that the state will spend $1 million to buy water filters and test water in Flint public schools. 
 
 OCT. 8: Snyder calls for Flint to go back to using water from Detroit's system again. 
 
 OCT. 15: The Michigan Legislature and Snyder approve nearly $9.4 million in aid to Flint, including $6 million to help switch its drinking water back to Detroit. The legislation also includes money for water filters, inspections and lab testing. 
 
 NOV. 3: Voters elect newcomer Karen Weaver over incumbent Mayor Dayne Walling amid fallout over the drinking water. 
 
 DEC. 29: Snyder accepts the resignation of Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant and apologizes for what occurred in Flint. 
 
 JAN. 5: Snyder declares a state of emergency in Flint, the same day federal officials confirm that they are investigating. 
 
 JAN. 12: Snyder activates the Michigan National Guard to help distribute bottled water and filters in Flint and asks the federal government for help. 
 
 JAN. 13: Michigan health officials report an increase in Legionnaires' disease cases during periods over the past two years in the county that includes Flint. 
 
 JAN. 14: Snyder asks the Obama administration for major disaster declaration and more federal aid. ||||| In a photo from Jan. 2, 2016, Sherri Miller and her son, Jameer, 7, a first-grader, are seen at Freeman Elementary School in Flint, Mich., where Jameer was getting his finger-prick blood sample tested... (Associated Press) 
 
 FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The longest line at Freeman Elementary School's Family Fun Night was not for face painting or food. It was for lead testing. 
 
 For three months, families in the former auto manufacturing hub of Flint have taken their children for blood tests and lived on bottled water after doctors found high levels of lead in the bodies of the community's youngest people. 
 
 "It really is a scary situation to know that we can't get clean drinking water," said Sherri Miller, who brought her first-grade son, Jameer, to have a finger-prick blood sample tested. "It really is scary to think someone knew about this" and did nothing. 
 
 Nearly two years have passed since safe drinking water flowed from Flint faucets. The financially troubled city began drawing its water from the Flint River in 2014 to save money. Officials failed to treat the corrosive water properly to prevent metal leaching from old pipes. Worse, residents didn't learn they were drinking tainted water until the state issued warnings a year and a half after the switch was made. 
 
 For the city's 100,000 residents, daily life is now all about lead. 
 
 Before the crisis, Flint, about an hour's drive north of Detroit, had become a symbol of the decline of the U.S. auto industry, having suffered waves of auto plant layoffs and the loss of half its population. Forty-one percent of the population falls below the poverty line. 
 
 These days, it's a place where parents fear for the health of young children, who can develop learning disabilities and behavior problems from lead exposure. 
 
 "It has such damning, lifelong and generational consequences," said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, director of pediatric residency at Hurley Children's Hospital, where more than 2,000 children have been tested. She is credited with bringing the problem to the public's attention after state agencies initially dismissed her concerns. 
 
 "It was frustrating that it went on for so long," Hanna-Attisha said, complaining that even since the state began taking action, "everything has been slow." 
 
 Gov. Rick Snyder finally acknowledged in late September that the water was unsafe, saying the consequences of switching to Flint River water were not "fully understood." The decision to use the river was made while a Snyder-appointed emergency manager was running city government. 
 
 The city, which had been under state supervision since 2011, returned to local control last April. 
 
 Flint went back to Detroit water in October, but some fear the old pipes were so damaged that they must be replaced, at costs estimated as high as $1.5 billion. 
 
 On Monday, Snyder apologized to Flint and pledged that officials would contact every household to ensure families have bottled water and a filter and to check whether they want to be tested for lead exposure. 
 
 He also promised to seek a long-term solution. 
 
 "This is a crisis," the governor said. "So we're responding appropriately. There's more work to be done." 
 
 Snyder's many critics got louder at midweek, when the governor announced that two spikes in Legionnaires' disease had occurred in the county that includes Flint during the time Flint River water was used. Ten people died. Michigan health officials said they cannot conclude that the outbreak stemmed from Flint's water, but others argued it probably had. 
 
 Late Thursday, Snyder asked President Barack Obama to issue a federal disaster declaration in an effort to get federal aid, a move critics countered should have been taken sooner. The president signed an emergency declaration on Saturday and ordered federal aid for the city. 
 
 After Snyder declared a state of emergency Jan. 5, residents could go to fire stations to pick up a daily ration of one case of bottled water per household and a water filter. But even that effort fell short. 
 
 The following Monday, a pile of empty filter boxes was stacked against the wall at one station. One woman came back three times in the hope of getting one. Hours later, even the water was gone after volunteers had given out almost 900 cases. And the fire station had not received any of the lead test kits that had been promised. 
 
 Volunteers also began going door-to-door to distribute water. Snyder called on the National Guard to help. 
 
 For angry residents, it's still not enough. 
 
 "The state was telling everybody, 'It's fine, relax. ... It's safe,'" even as people complained that the water looked cloudy and tasted bad, said community activist Melissa Mays. "They lied." 
 
 Mays, her husband and three sons ages 11, 12 and 17 are taking medication to reduce high lead and other heavy metal levels in their blood. 
 
 "Like everybody else, we drank and cooked with it because they told us it was safe," she said. 
 
 Rabecka Cordell said she learned from her doctor that both she and her 5-year-old son, Dayne, have lead poisoning. She said she also has leukemia, and her son has learning and speech disabilities. 
 
 She won't even bathe in the water and won't wash her son in it. 
 
 "It's ridiculous," Cordell said. 
 
 At the elementary school's lead testing on Tuesday, more than 50 kids lined up. One was fifth-grader Maleah Gill. 
 
 "You wonder how long has it been in her system?" said her father, Matt Gill. "How much has she taken in? What's the effects? 
 
 Hurley Children's Hospital is distributing 10,000 booklets on mitigating the effects of lead on children, including recipes high in iron, calcium and vitamin C. Adding to the challenge is that there are few grocers with fresh produce within Flint city limits. At a local farmers market, the hospital offers weekly recipe and cooking demonstrations with lead in mind. The first one was hearty egg burritos. 
 
 Nutrition "has a huge mitigating role," Hanna-Attisha said. 
 
 She urged parents to consult early and often with a pediatrician. 
 
 In consultations, the doctor said, "we need to give families hope that with secondary prevention interventions, not every kid is going to have problems." 
 
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 Follow Roger Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rogschneider. ||||| Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder asked President Obama to declare both an emergency and an expedited major disaster in the county where the city of Flint has been dealing with the fallout from lead-contaminated drinking water. (Reuters) 
 
 The city of Flint, Mich., is in the midst of a water crisis several years in the making. The city opted out of Detroit's water supply and began drawing water from the Flint River in April 2014, part of a cost-saving move. Eighteen months later, in the fall of 2015, researchers discovered that the proportion of children with above-average lead levels in their blood had doubled. 
 
 The city reconnected to Detroit's water system in October, but the damage was done. Water from the Flint River was found to be highly corrosive to the lead pipes still used in some parts of the city. Even though Flint River water no longer flows through the city's pipes, it's unclear how long those pipes will continue to leach unsafe levels of lead into the tap water supply. Experts currently say the water is safe for bathing, but not drinking. 
 
 A group of Virginia Tech researchers who sampled the water in 271 Flint homes last summer found some contained lead levels high enough to meet the EPA's definition of "toxic waste." 
 
 The researchers posted their test results online, which I represent graphically below with other visuals to help understand just how high above normal Flint's lead levels really were. 
 
 Lead in water is measured in terms of parts per billion (ppb). If a test comes back with lead levels higher than 15 ppb, the EPA recommends that homeowners and municipalities take steps to reduce that level, like updating pipes and putting anti-corrosive elements in the water when appropriate. 
 
 But 15 ppb is a regulatory measure, not a public health one. Researchers stress that there is no 100 percent "safe" level of lead in drinking water, only acceptable levels. Even levels as low as 5 ppb can be a cause for concern, according to the group studying Flint's water. 
 
 So let's start with Flint's neighboring cities. At the city level, public health officials are most concerned with the 90th percentile level of lead exposure in homes they test -- that is, 90 percent of homes will have a lead level below this threshold, while 10 percent will register above it. 
 
 Forty-five minutes away from Flint in Troy, Mich., the 90th percentile level for lead in 2013 was 1.1 parts per billion. Not too shabby at all. In the graphics that follow, each splotch represents 1 part per billion. The splotches aren't proportionally scaled to the cups -- 1 part per billion is way too small to be visualized at this level. But all of the following graphics are scaled proportionally to each other, to give an impression of relative lead levels. 
 
 In Detroit, the water supply Flint had previously been connected to, the 90th percentile reading was 2.3 parts per billion -- still highly acceptable. 
 
 Here's an illustration of water at the 5 parts per billion level. This is below the borderline for EPA acceptability, but the team of researchers studying Flint's water say that levels this high can be a cause for concern, particularly for young children. 
 
 Now things get interesting. Here's a glass illustrating the 90th percentile reading among the 271 Flint homes tested by researchers last summer: 
 
 At 27 parts per billion, it's five times as high as the level of concern, and nearly twice as high as the EPA's already-generous guidelines. According to the researchers who ran these tests, the health effects of lead levels this high "can include high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems, kidney damage and memory and neurological problems." 
 
 Recall, though, that 10 percent of the homes in the sample had lead levels even higher than this. Here's the highest lead reading in that sample, from a home in the city's 8th Ward: 
 
 That's more than 10 times the EPA limit. It's 30 times higher than the 5 ppb reading that can indicate unsafe lead amounts. 
 
 But that 158 ppb reading is far from the worst one that turned up in Flint, unfortunately. In the spring of 2015, city officials tested water in the home of LeeAnne Walters, a stay-at-home mother of four and a Navy wife. They got a reading of 397 ppb, an alarmingly high number. 
 
 But it was even worse than that. Virginia Tech's team went to Walters' house to verify those numbers later in the year. They were concerned that the city tested water in a way that was almost guaranteed to minimize lead readings: They flushed the water for several minutes before taking a sample, which often washes away a percentage of lead contaminants. They also made residents collect water at a very low flow rate, which they knew also tended to be associated with lower readings. 
 
 So the Virginia Tech researchers took 30 different readings at various flow levels. What they found shocked them: The lowest reading they obtained was around 200 ppb, already ridiculously high. But more than half of the readings came in at more than 1,000 ppb. Some came in above 5,000 -- the level at which EPA considers the water to be "toxic waste." 
 
 The highest reading registered at 13,000 ppb. 
 
 The professor who conducted the sampling, Dr. Marc Edwards, was in "disbelief." 
 
 "We had never seen such sustained high levels of lead in 25 years of work," he said. 
 
 According to Edwards, the team retested the water with extra quality controls and assurance checks, and obtained the exact same results. 
 
 You can check out their description of the testing at the website they set up for their water study. It includes unsettling photos of LeeAnne Walters' tap water containing rust and metal particles large enough to be seen with the naked eye. 
 
 The Walters family had stopped drinking the water a long time ago, according to the Virginia Tech team. But still, the lead levels were too high. One of Walters' 4-year-old sons was diagnosed with lead poisoning. 
 
 It appears that the city of Flint and state of Michigan have finally started to take the water problem seriously. Again, they reconnected the city to Detroit's supply back in October, but the water remains unsafe to drink. 
 
 In recent days the National Guard was activated to help distribute drinking water to the city's residents. And in yet another unsettling wrinkle in Flint's saga, 87 cases of Legionnaire's Disease, 10 fatal, have been diagnosed in the city since June. It's not yet clear whether that outbreak is linked to the water. ||||| Buy Photo The federal agency FEMA has sent two officials to Michigan to monitor the Flint drinking water crisis. (Photo: Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo 
 
 LANSING President Barack Obama on Saturday declared a federal emergency in Flint, freeing up to $5 million in federal aid to immediately assist with the public health crisis, but he denied Gov. Rick Snyder's request for a disaster declaration. 
 
 A disaster declaration would have made larger amounts of federal funding available more quickly to help Flint residents whose drinking water is contaminated with lead. But under federal law, only natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods are eligible for disaster declarations, federal and state officials said. The lead contamination of Flint's drinking water is a manmade catastrophe. 
 
 The president's actions authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate responses and cover 75% of the costs for much-needed water, filters, filter cartridges and other items for residents, capped initially at $5 million. The president also offered assistance in finding other available federal assistance, a news release Saturday from the White House said. 
 
 Snyder, who on Thursday night asked Obama for federal financial aid in the crisis through declarations of both a federal emergency and a federal disaster, said in a news release Saturday he appreciates Obama granting the emergency request "and supporting Flint during this critical situation." 
 
 "I have pledged to use all state resources possible to help heal Flint, and these additional resources will greatly assist in efforts under way to ensure every resident has access to clean water resources," he said. 
 
 U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, welcomed the emergency declaration and issued a statement: 
 
 “I welcome the president’s quick action in support of the people of Flint after months of inaction by the governor," Kildee said. "The residents and children of Flint deserve every resource available to make sure that they have safe water and are able to recover from this terrible manmade disaster created by the state.” 
 
 On Friday, Kildee led a bipartisan effort in support of the request for federal assistance. Kildee had long called for Snyder to request federal aid. 
 
 Typically, federal aid for an emergency is capped at $5 million, though the president can commit more if he goes through Congress. 
 
 Snyder's application said as much as $55 million is needed in the near term to repair damaged lead service lines and as much as $41 million to pay for several months of water distribution and providing residents with testing, water filters and cartridges. 
 
 In what's become a huge government scandal, garnering headlines across the country and around the world, Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead after the city temporarily switched its supply source in 2014 from Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to more corrosive and polluted Flint River water, treated at the Flint water treatment plant. 
 
 The switch was made as a cost-cutting move while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. The state Department of Environmental Quality has acknowledged a mistake in failing to require the addition of needed corrosion-control chemicals to the water. That caused lead, which causes brain damage and other health problems in children, to leach into the water from pipes and fixtures. 
 
 Resident complaints about the taste, odor and appearance of the water, which began immediately after the switch, were largely ignored by state officials. The state also dismissed reports of elevated lead levels in the blood of Flint children from pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha before for the first time publicly acknowledging a problem in October 2015. 
 
 Snyder declared a state of emergency Jan. 5 and mobilized the National Guard Jan. 12 but has been widely and strongly criticized for not moving more quickly. 
 
 State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said federal assistance makes him "more confident ... Flint families will begin receiving the help they deserve." 
 
 "We need to remain committed and ensure the state fully accepts responsibility in this crisis and does everything they can to correct the long-term impact on our community," Ananich said in a news release Saturday. 
 
 U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said in a news release Saturday she appreciates "the president's quick action in responding to the urgent needs of families in Flint." 
 
 "I will continue to push for federal resources to address this crisis, and for a commitment of resources from the state to meet the immediate needs of the community and to set aside a future fund to address the long-term needs of children and families," Stabenow said. 
 
 U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, also welcomed the announcement and said he will work to support further federal support for Flint residents. However, "the State of Michigan and Gov. Snyder must step up and provide the necessary resources to deal with the long-term effect of water contamination," Peters said in a statement. 
 
 U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, praised Obama for moving "with unprecedented speed to respond, within 36 hours of receiving the request." 
 
 Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1RsCM1X ||||| CLOSE Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says help is being given to Flint residents affected by the city's water woes while officials work on a long-term solution. The governor made his remarks during a tour of the Detroit auto show. (Jan. 12) AP 
 
 Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder activated the National Guard to help the American Red Cross distribute water to Flint residents to help them deal with the lead contamination that is in the City of Flint's water supply. (Photo: Getty Images) 
 
 Corrections and clarifications: This article has been updated to clarify the health experts recommend that all of Flint’s children be treated as though they have been exposed to lead. 
 
 FLINT, Mich. — In order to address the public health crisis in Flint, every Flint child under 6 years of age -- 8,657 children, based on an analysis of Census data -- should be considered exposed to lead. 
 
 The direction came earlier this week from the doctor who forced the state to acknowledge Flint’s lead problem and the state itself. 
 
 The exposure began in April 2014 after the city switched from using Detroit’s water system, which pumps water out of Lake Huron, to its own treatment plant, which drew water from the Flint River. 
 
 In recommendations to the state on Monday, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha said all kids under the age of 6 should be treated with some kind of prevention actions. 
 
 Eden Wells, the state's chief medical executive, reiterated in a news conference Monday the fact that all children who drank the city's water since April 2014 have been exposed to lead. "It is important when we think about a public health perspective that we consider the whole cohort ... exposed to the drinking water, especially 6 years and under since April 2014, as exposed, regardless of what their blood level is on Jan. 11." 
 
 The state's most recent report, based on tests conducted between October and December 2015, shows that 43 people — only a small portion of the number exposed — had elevated blood lead levels. That's because these tests measure only the amount of lead in a person's blood, which decreases after about 30 days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 That means testing done today does not represent past exposure. Once lead is present in the bloodstream, it is distributed throughout the body, primarily to bones, teeth and soft tissue. Lead accumulates in the body over time. Blood-lead tests used to identify recent or ongoing exposure to lead, do not measure the overall lead burden in the body. 
 
 There is no safe level of lead in the body, but the impacts of lead are considered most severe on the developing brains and nervous systems of children and fetuses. And even the 8,657 Flint children younger than 6 exposed to lead may be a low estimate; It doesn't include unborn children whose mothers drank tainted water during their pregnancies, or children and pregnant women who reside outside Flint but were exposed while visiting relatives, childcare centers or hospitals inside city limits. 
 
 See a map of the number of Flint children less than six years of age by block group. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1RrPONo ||||| The latest on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan (all times local): 
 
 3:10 p.m. 
 
 President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration for Flint, Michigan, that clears the way for federal aid to the city undergoing a drinking water crisis. 
 
 The White House issued a release Saturday calling for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to "alleviate the hardship and suffering" on residents. 
 
 Flint's city switched water supplies in 2014 while a new pipeline was under construction and the corrosive water from the Flint River leached lead from old pipes. 
 
 FEMA has been authorized to provide water, filters, cartridges and other items for 90 days. Direct federal funding also will be made available. 
 
 Gov. Rick Snyder requested the federal declaration Friday, saying needs "far exceed the state's capability." He says emergency measures could cost $41 million.
– Flint, Michigan's water woes are officially a federal emergency—nearly two years after the city took the money-saving move of switching from using Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to water from the Flint River. That water was found to be highly corrosive to lead pipes still in use in the city, causing lead to leach into residents' drinking water. On Saturday President Obama declared a federal emergency in the city of 100,000, thereby unleashing federal funding and authorizing FEMA to provide water, filters, cartridges, and other items for 90 days, per the AP and Detroit Free Press. Gov. Rich Snyder puts the cost of the aforementioned water distribution and filtering items at $41 million. More: Sanders vs. Snyder: Speaking of Snyder, Bernie Sanders called for his resignation Saturday. "The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint's water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned." Timeline: The AP has a timelines of the crisis, which dates to the April 2014 switch. Notable: In October 2014, a GM engine plant stopped using Flint's water, stating that it was rusting parts. Visualized: The Washington Post has a jarring and informative series of graphics that illustrate "how toxic Flint's water really is." One family's water tested at a level that the EPA considers to be "toxic waste." Every kid: The state's chief medical executive, along with the doctor who publicly called for Flint to stop its use of Flint River water, this week said all 8,657 kids under age 6 in Flint should be considered exposed to lead and treated as such, reports USA Today. The residents' ordeal: The AP speaks with some locals. Rabecka Cordell and her 5-year-old son have lead poisoning; she also has leukemia, he has learning and speech disabilities. She refuses to even use the water to bathe.