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Running Head: RESEARCH PAPER

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Research Paper:
Flint River Water Contamination Crisis
Student’s Name
Professor
Course
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FLINT RIVER CONTAMINATION

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Flint River Water Contamination
Flint Water Crisis is an environmental issue that began around April of 2014 when
Michigan decided to tighten their budget and switch their water source to Lake Huron. There was
a two-year delay into making that switch so while new pipelines were being built, water from the
Flint River was used instead (Benham, & Woltemade, 2016). Residents of the state noticed the
quality of water and complained about the metallic taste as well as the brownish color (Dingle,
2013). Testing of the water revealed that it contained lead and consumption of lead at that level
could lead to health problems that may be fatal. Other than the high levels of lead found, further
testing showed how polluted the Flint River was; E. coli has been found, factories have been
dumping their waste into the river, sewage could be found, among other water contamination
concerns (Hanna-Attisha, LaChance, Sadler, & Champney, 2016). This research paper will
further over the health impacts, environmental impacts, how the water became so contaminated
with lead and other pollutants, as well as the economical state of Michigan prior and after the
crisis.

Flint River’s Chemical Contaminants
After the discovery of the issue with Flint water, Flint told the residents that
trihalomethanes were the main contaminants in Flint River water. These are molecules that are
very similar to CH4. However, 3 of the H atoms are replaced with halogen, for instance Chlorine,
Bromine, Iodine, or Fluorine atoms. Trichloromethane is the most common type of
trihalomethanes, but tribromomethane is the most poisonous trihalomethane. Other contaminants
have since been discovered by scientists, for instance a high level of lead in children who were

FLINT RIVER CONTAMINATION

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using the Flint River water. Arsenic, polynuclear, mercury, and other contaminants were also
found to be present in the Flint River water (Hanna-Attisha, LaChance, Sadler, & Champney,
2016).
There are several contaminants that were found in River Flint’s water, which rendered it
unsafe for humans and animal use (Carmody, 2016). Lead is a compound that is common in
paint, common in roofing coats. It is also a product of petroleum products such as leaded diesel,
used with automobile. Lead is one of the contaminants that were found in the Flint River Water
to deem it unsafe for human consumption (Snyder, 2014). Trichloromethane is a carceinogenic
compound that is formed by a reaction between organic compounds such as methane or
methanoic acid and chlorine. It has been another cause of alarm. Mercury is a heavy metal that is
highly associated with heart failure and low blood pressure (Snyder, 2014). This is because the
heart gets tired of pumping heavy metals, and it can also cause stroke because blood cannot
sufficiently reach the brain of the high mercury host. It gets into water from washing products
such as detergents, or wastes such as mercury lamps (Hanna-Attisha, LaChance, Sadler, &
Champney, 2016). Arsenic and polynuclear are also chemical contaminants that were common in
the Flint River. These compounds combined are life threatening (Hanna-Attisha, LaChance,
Sadler, & Champney, 2016).
Plumbosolvency is the capability of water to dissolve lead compounds. It is increased by
elements such as lower pH (acidity) and higher temperatures. Acidity in water is able to
breakdown lead carbonate in roofing coats to soluble forms of lead. In this case, lead is
transported in water. The Flint City has a population of approximately 100,000 people. Out of
this number, most of them reside in houses that are covered ...