Social Effects

Medical specialists have shared concerns about lead consumption in children for many decades. More recently, Chen, Ma and Watkins explored the effects of lead contamination on children under two years of age. They defined lead contamination as elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs). They list a wide range of negative effects of EBLLs, including “decreased intelligence quotient, damaged nervous system, developmental delays, and neurobehavioral deficits.” The researchers found that “Children living in neighborhoods of the lowest quartile of household income and the highest quartile of poverty and old housing were more likely to have EBLLs.” They report that non-Hispanic white children had the lowest percentage of EBLLs while Hispanic black children had the highest percentage. Those children, who often resided in older, poorer neighborhoods, had “significant risk factors for EBLLs.” This is another piece of evidence supporting the idea that race was a factor in the crisis. While some were at more risk than others, researchers from Virginia Tech found that no neighborhood in Flint was safe. In some areas, the blood lead levels in children had tripled after Flint’s water source was switched to the Flint River.

Wang, Chen and Li studied babies born in Flint during the water crisis in order to determine the impact of pollutants in the water. They created a strong comparison group to ensure that they were measuring effects of the change in water quality due to contamination. Although they report “modest effects” of the water contamination on all infants as a group, they found disproportionate negative results for babies born to black mothers in comparison with white mothers. The group of babies born to black mothers had overall lower birth weights and greater incidents of Low Birth Weight syndrome than those born to white mothers. In acknowledging that different pollutants may have triggered the results, the authors state, “it is still too early to conclude whether the effects are mainly due to lead contamination or proximity to polluted pipes.” Other measured characteristics (such as length of gestation and incidence of infertility) did not show the racial divide in meaningful ways.

Not surprisingly, the long-term devastation in Flint impacted the mental health of some of its residents. According to Brooks and Patel, “Disadvantaged communities are more likely to be vulnerable to adverse mental health outcomes especially after a disaster and have more barriers to treatment. Therefore, the mental health of Flint residents is of particular concern….as has been seen in other post-disaster communities.” They reviewed literature that focuses on the mental health of Flint residents during and after the water crisis; however, interpreting the results demands particular care as most of the studies include some design limitations. Still, the authors state that the research “suggests considerable psychological consequences to Flint residents, exacerbated by mistrust in officials and financial difficulties.” One positive outcome is that the national attention to the crisis has helped to increase specific and meaningful ways to assess and address the residents’ mental health needs. The authors propose that such intervention may help “the Flint community to become an example of a community that can bounce back and be resilient from future public health emergencies.” Support for Flint residents’ mental health needs in addition to their physical health needs is crucial, given the harsh consequences of the water crisis.

Economic Effects