Chemical Contamination
Chemical pollutants are a major contributor to water pollution in various areas especially Flint residents who are within the Flint River. The water in Flint area is contaminated with various chemicals that are as a result of the move by Michigan to switch the public water system to the Flint River in 2014, April 25th for purposes of reducing the costs of operation as was stated by the Mayor, Dayne Walling (Kennedy, 2016). In this sense, the contamination of water by chemicals in the Flint area has had various adverse health effects on the various residents in the area. The various chemical contaminants are released to the Flint River from various industries from their industrial problems which are hazardous to life, human, plant, and animal life.
There are various issues or problems that relate to the chemical water pollution of the water system in the Flint area as a result of polluting the water system. There are various adverse effects that result from the chemical contamination of the water system in the Flint area. These adverse effects include various reproductive problems, gastrointestinal illnesses, neurological problems, various respiratory infections, headaches, irritations, conditions such as asthma, eye irritation, nose irritation, Legionnaires’ disease (a severe form of pneumonia contracted from water sources), typhoid, cholera among other types of health effects. According to CDCP (2003), there is more susceptibility to some of the contaminants in the population of the people whose immunities have been compromised by the chemicals that are found in the water system that they use. Therefore the Flint community is adversely affected in terms of health due to the water pollution caused by chemicals that are released in their water systems. In this sense, the issue of lack of treatment of the water that the residents in Flint use is common whereby the color as well as the smell of the water that is pumped from the Flint River is largely unfit for human consumption. Therefore there is the issue of neglect by the responsible authorities to ensure the safety of the people in Flint is taken into consideration by ensuring that there is no chemical contamination to the water that the residents of Flint are using.
Therefore the water pollution that is caused by chemicals being presented in the water systems of the residents in Flint has created various problems for the people. Due to the deadly levels of the metal neurotoxin as well as the levels of lead that are elevated in the area due to chemical contamination, many children in the area have been negatively affected. Many children who grow up in Flint are characterized by having low cognitive levels, low levels of IQ, being antisocial in addition to various health conditions that affect their kidneys, brains, livers among other body parts. In addition to that, due to the various adverse health effects for many people in Flint, there are few development activities that are going on in the area as most of the productive people are spending most of their time seeking medical services whereas others have been incapacitated from engaging in productive activities. Ingraham (2017) notes that there is a significant reduction in the rates of fertility among the residents in Flint with reference to the children that were conceived from October 2013 to 2015 in births because they were likely exposed to the water that was chemically contaminated. Therefore, chemical contamination of water is a hazard that has adversely affected the residents of Flint to a large extent with reference to their health, their physical development as well as socio-economic development.
References
Ingraham, C. (2017, September 21). Flint’s lead-poisoned water had a ‘horrifyingly large’ effect on fetal deaths, study finds. Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/21/flints-lead-poisoned-water-had-a-horrifyingly-large-effect-on-fetal-deaths-study-finds/
Kennedy., M. (2016). Lead-Laced Water In Flint: A Step-By-Step Look At The Makings Of A Crisis. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/20/465545378/lead-laced-water-in-flint-a-step-by-step-look-at-the-makings-of-a-crisis
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2003). Recommendations of CDC and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). Regulated Medical Waste, Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health Care Facilities, Atlanta.