Water Crisis in US City a 'Disaster, Not Just an Emergency'

Water Crisis in US City a 'Disaster, Not Just an Emergency'

Civil rights activists¹, politicians and residents are calling the contamination of drinking water in an urban U.S. city “a disaster, not just an emergency.”

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently apologized for the water disaster in Flint, Michigan, according to the news agency CNN.

Snyder said he would use all his power as governor to solve the water crisis. Snyder asked state legislators for $28 million to fund a series of immediate² actions.

The money would be used for things such as supplying bottled water, replacing water filters and other fixtures³ in high-risk areas, testing children for high lead levels and treating potential physical and emotional health issues, reports CNN. 

Snyder said the following statement to the people of Flint: “Your families face a crisis, a crisis you did not create and could not have prevented. I am sorry and I will fix it."

The Republican governor has become the target for much heated criticism because the crisis unfolded under his watch.

Civil rights leaders, activists, politicians come to Flint

U.S. civil rights activists visited the Midwestern city of Flint, Michigan recently.

Reverend Jesse Jackson is a longtime civil rights leader. He led a delegation⁴ of activists.

They addressed a crowd of concerned and angered citizens sitting in a local church.  

Jackson spoke⁵ later to reporters. He said the residents of Flint have been exposed to contaminated drinking and bathing water for nearly two years.

Jackson described the city as "a crime scene.”

Who lives in Flint?

Flint is an industrial, urban area of the state. It is largely an African-American city, where 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. Jackson's visit to Flint came one day after President Barack Obama declared a local state of emergency. This clears the way for federal aid to reach the residents. 

Obama’s visit came a day after another visit by controversial filmmaker Michael Moore.

Moore was raised in Flint. He made the 1989 documentary film “Roger & Me.”

The film is about the closing of several automobile⁶ plants in Flint by CEO of General Motors Roger Smith.

Speaking at City Hall, Moore said the situation is "not just a water crisis. It is “a racial crisis.” It is “a poverty crisis.”

How did this happen?

According to many reports, the water crisis began 2014.

The city of Flint was in deep financial difficulty. To save money, the city began using water from a local river rather than using pretreated water from the water system of Detroit, a nearby city.

However, the water in the Flint River is highly corrosive⁷. Officials did not properly treat the corrosive water before sending it through lead pipes and into people’s homes.

Corrosive means to cause damage to metal or other materials through a chemical process. And that is just what happened.

As the corrosive water traveled through the system of old lead pipes, lead seeped⁸ or leached⁹ into the water.

To make matters worse, officials did not tell Flint residents about their tainted¹⁰ drinking water supply for a year and a half. Now, the people of Flint are demanding to know who knew what and when.

Flint has since returned to using water from Detroit. However, engineers now say its water distribution system may need replacement¹¹. This could cost as much at $1.5 billion.

The Detroit Free Press called on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to release staff emails. Critics of the governor say his emails may show a pattern of willful neglect by state officials. These same critics say the governor and his staff allegedly attempted to lessen¹² the importance of the contamination and its effects.

Health experts report finding dangerously high levels of lead in the city's children. State officials have begun importing bottled water to protect locals from further contamination.

A hero doctor

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is director of pediatric residency at Hurley Children's Hospital. She is being called a hero by many.

The doctor brought the problem of high levels of lead in children to the public's attention. She did this after state agencies first ignored her concerns.

What lead does to a child

Hanna-Attisha explains that lead-contaminated water has lifelong and generational effects. In a television interview, she says it is well-documented that high levels of lead in children can lead to learning disabilities and emotional problems that follow the child into adulthood¹³.

The World Health Organization says excess lead exposure can damage a human's nervous and reproductive systems and the kidneys. High levels of lead can cause high blood pressure and anemia¹⁴. It also describes lead as "especially harmful to the developing brains of fetuses¹⁵, young children and to pregnant women."

Additionally, the WHO warns of risks from "irreversible learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and mental retardation¹⁶. At very high levels, lead can cause convulsions, coma¹⁷ and death."

Investigating the crisis

Earlier this month, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency. This allowed the residents of Flint to go to fire stations for a daily case of water per household.

But many blame Snyder for the crisis.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Shuette announced that he will investigate the crisis to determine whether any state laws were broken.

In a recent statement, a civil rights organization, called the NAACP, described the Attorney General’s announcement as a "positive and much needed step in the right direction."

The statement went on to say to “expose a city of nearly 100,000 residents, many of them children, to toxic¹⁸ lead is, if not criminal, at the very least inhumane."

Words in This Story

contamination – n. to make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable¹⁹ elements

corrosive – adj. causing damage to metal or other materials through a chemical process

controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument : likely to produce controversy²⁰

tainted – adj. to make (something) dangerous or dirty especially by adding something harmful or undesirable to it

irreversible – adj.  impossible to change back to a previous condition or state

convulsions medical : a sudden violent shaking of the muscles in your body that you are unable to control

coma – n. a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

7 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

8 seeped   

v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• The rain seeped through the roof. 雨水透过房顶渗透。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Icy air seeped in through the paper and the room became cold. 寒气透过了糊窗纸。屋里骤然冷起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

9 leached   

v.（将化学品、矿物质等）过滤( leach的过去式和过去分词 )；（液体）过滤，滤去

参考例句：

• They believe that the humic materials are leached from decaying plant materials. 他们认为腐植物料是从腐烂的植物体浸沥而来。 来自辞典例句
• The concept holds that uranium is leached by groundwater from tuffeceous rocks. 该理论认为，来自凝灰岩的地下水淋蚀铀。 来自辞典例句

10 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

12 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

13 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

14 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

15 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

16 retardation   

n.智力迟钝，精神发育迟缓

参考例句：

• Asbestos reinforcement confers excellent flame retardation properties on a composite. 石棉增强材料使复合材料具有优异的防火性能。
• The theory confirms the increase in the retardation effect with decrease in particle size. 理论证实，随着颗粒尺寸的减小，这一减速效应将增大。

17 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

18 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

19 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

20 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。