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We take so many things for granted in the U.S., including having safe water for drinking and bathing. When officials state repeatedly that water is safe, most citizens believe them. However, residents of Flint, Mich., were betrayed by officials at every level—local, state and federal. It’s a story that’s happened many times before. People suspect something is wrong, but they are ignored, vilified or told there is no problem. Fortunately, in an otherwise awful situation, there are some bright spots—courageous citizens who persisted in speaking out, a physician who connected the dots to diagnose the disaster, and water specialists from Virginia Tech who found evidence of lead in water samples from Flint.
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It will take millions and millions of dollars to fix Flint’s water system and years of health care (and more millions) to treat children exposed to lead, an exposure for which there is no cure. The city’s residents are reeling from the fact that an arrogant error caused their water—an essential ingredient for life—to be hazardous. It’s a sad tale, and it is critical that all of us in public health understand that water is a public health right. Despite the bureaucracies in which our health systems exist, a fundamental public health principle is that we ensure safety. In Flint, that did not happen, and once again, socially and economically disadvantaged people will have suffered the most.
The Flint experience has demonstrated once again the value a university’s faculty members and students can deliver by working in partnership with communities. One Flint resident, quoted in The New York Times, said that the scientists “became the only people that citizens here trust, and it’s still that way.”
That’s the kind of value universities can deliver, and I’m proud of the Virginia Tech team.
Barbara