Drinking Water Contamination in Flint, Michigan, Demonstrates a Need to Clarify EPA Authority to Issue Emergency Orders to Protect the Public

"This report is an EPA OIG Management Alert. To avoid future public health harm through drinking water contamination, the EPA needs to clarify for its employees how its emergency authority can and should be used to intervene in a public health threat.

Report Materials

Report at a Glance (PDF)(1 pg, 180 K)

• Full Report (PDF)(16 pp, 938 k)..."
• Flint Michigan drinking  and EPA

Flint, Michigan Water contamination

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is reviewing the circumstances of, and the EPA’s response to, the contamination in the city of Flint, Michigan’s, community water system, including the EPA’s exercise of its oversight authority. We are issuing this report to alert the EPA about factors that delayed its intervention using emergency authority under Section 1431 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). When our review is completed, we plan to issue a subsequent report..."
Flint water contamination

CDC investigation: Blood lead levels higher after switch to Flint River water

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released the results of its investigation into the potential health impact that lead contamination in the Flint, Michigan water supply had on the blood lead levels of local children.  The findings indicate that when the source of the water supply was switched to the Flint River, without appropriate corrosion control measures, young children who drank the water had blood lead levels (BLLs) that were significantly higher than when the source of water was the Detroit water system. After the switch back to the Detroit water system, the percentage of children under 6 years with elevated blood lead levels returned to levels seen before the water switch took place.

“This crisis was entirely preventable, and a startling reminder of the critical need to eliminate all sources of lead from our children’s environment,” said Patrick Breysse, Ph.D., director of CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. “CDC is committed to continued support for the people of Flint through our Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program and efforts to raise awareness and promote action to address the critical public health issue in communities across the country.”

To understand the impact of consuming contaminated drinking water on children’s blood lead levels, CDC researchers examined data on levels of lead in blood of children younger than six years before, during, and after the switch in Flint’s water source. The current CDC blood lead level of concern (also known as a reference level) is 5 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (≥5 µg/dL). This reference value is based on the population of children ages 1-5 years in the U.S. who are in the top 2.5% of children tested for lead in their blood..."
Blood lead

Flint Drinking Water Documents

 View selected Flint Michigan drinking water documents compiled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Flint Drinking Water

HHS to Lead Federal Response in Flint

"The team will be led by Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

Flint, Michigan is in the midst of a serious public health crisis, with high levels of lead in its water supply. President Obama signed an emergency declaration on Saturday, ordering federal assistance to support state and local response efforts.

With the emergency declaration in place, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now been designated the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating federal government response and recovery efforts.

This means that HHS will, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), identify and mobilize the capabilities of the rest of the federal partners – including the Small Business Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Education and Agriculture (USDA) -- that are already working to help residents in Flint.

The goal of the federal response will be to help state and local leaders identify the size and scope of the problem, and work with them to make and execute a plan for mitigation of the short- and long-term health effects of lead exposure..."
Flint Michigan