"When the Water Turned Brown"

"FLINT, Mich. — Standing at a microphone in September holding up a baby bottle, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a local pediatrician, said she was deeply worried about the water. The number of Flint children with elevated levels of lead in their blood had risen alarmingly since the city changed its water supply the previous year, her analysis showed.

Within hours of Dr. Hanna-Attisha’s news conference, Michigan state officials pushed back — hard. A Department of Health and Human Services official said that the state had not seen similar results and that it was working with a much larger set of data. A Department of Environmental Quality official was quoted as saying the pediatrician’s remarks were “unfortunate,” described the mood over Flint’s water as “near-hysteria” and said, as the authorities had insisted for months, that the water met state and federal standards.

Dr. Hanna-Attisha said she went home that night feeling shaky and sick, her heart racing. “When a state with a team of 50 epidemiologists tells you you’re wrong,” she said, “how can you not second-guess yourself?”"

Abby Goodnough, Monica Davey, and Mitch Smith report for the New York Times January 23, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Michigan Suspends Workers, Restores Flint Mayoral Powers In Water Crisis" (Reuters)

"How The Media Blew Flint" (Poynter)

"Snyder Hires PR Firm With Ties To New Chief Of Staff" (Detroit Free Press)

"US Authorities Distorting Tests To Downplay Lead Content Of Water" (Guardian)

"Events That Led to Flint’s Water Crisis" (New York Times)

"The Crisis in Flint Goes Deeper Than the Water" (New Yorker)

"Flint’s Water Crisis Reveals Government Failures At Every Level" (Washington Post)

"America's Lead Poisoning Problem Isn't Just In Flint. It’s Everywhere." (Vox)

"Flint Sets A New Low For Hazardous Water" (Toledo Blade)

"Do Not Drink: The Water Crisis In Flint, Michigan" (Reveal/Michigan Radio)

Editorial: "Fix Flint’s Water System, Now" (New York Times)

"EPA Faces Fallout From Flint, Mich., Water Crisis" (NPR)

"'It's All Just Poison Now': Flint Reels As Families Struggle Through Water Crisis" (Guardian)

"The Contempt That Poisoned Flint’s Water" (New Yorker)

"The Poisoning Of A City" (Mashable)

"EPA In Hot Seat After Regional Chief Resigns" (Greenwire)

"EPA IG Begins Probe Into Drinking Water Contamination" (Greenwire $$)

"Rick Snyder's Misleading Claim About Who Changed Flint's Water" (Huffington Post)

"Flint Families Make Tough Sacrifices Amid Contaminated Water" (NPR)

"Politicians Work To Remedy Flint Water Crisis" (NPR)

"Meet the Flint Journalist Who’s Written 250 Stories On the Water Crisis" (Upvoted)

"America's Real Criminal Element: Lead" (Mother Jones)

"Anger in Michigan Over Appointing Emergency Managers" (New York Times)

"Legionnaires’ Expert Blames Spike In Flint On Water" (Detroit Free Press/USA TODAY)

"A 'Man-Made Disaster' Unfolded In Flint, Within Plain Sight Of Water Regulators" (Los Angeles Times)

Editorial: "Depraved Indifference Toward Flint" (New York Times)