Soap, Water and Flint Michigan
Posted on February 20 2017
Around here water is our science lab, our consultant our partner. We test every bash for lather, effectiveness and feel in cold and hot water. With that said, a little flush of guilt comes over us lately as we turn on the faucet. Many Flint Michigan residents, still boil their water to drink and bath. Can you imagine the time and energy these residents expend to protect themselves and their children from the danger of lead in the towns water?
Years ago, when we moved into our first home in Boston, it was found to have lead paint. We had it stripped, test, and retested-nothing worried me more then our small children would be inadvertently effected by lead left behind. It's a valid concern of course. According to the CDC,
Exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health. Millions of children are being exposed to lead in their homes, increasing their risks for damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems (e.g., reduced IQ, ADHD, juvenile delinquency, and criminal behavior), and hearing and speech problems.
If you are not familiar with the history of the crisis, I will do my best to summarize:
Flint, Michigan is located 70 miles north of Detroit. In 2014, the city switched water from Lake Heron to Flint River as a cost saving measure. Since 2014 residents received many notifications, see this article, and boil water mandates.The Flint River historically had contamination issues and in 2001 a clean up effort was mandated. However, it was not treated with an anti-corrosive agent. According to a study by Virginia Tech. Flint water was found to be 19 times more corrosive than water from Lake Huron. The corrosive water took a toll on the aging pipes and lead began leaching into the Flint water supply. Improvements have been made, though as of Feb. 2017 Flint is still without reliable clean drinking water. Residents are still being advised to use filtered water for drinking and cooking.
The situation speaks to many more issues and our heart goes out to the people of Flint Michigan which is why:
We will be contributing a portion of proceeds from purchases made on our Saltysoap website to the United Way, Genesee's Keep the Water Flowing Program. Contributions will be made at min. though the end of March, 2017.
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