简体中文
हिन्दी
Português
Español
Flint water crisis: U-M experts available to discuss
EXPERTS ADVISORY
UPDATED February 8,9 2016: New experts added.
University of Michigan experts are available to discuss various aspects of the Flint water crisis, including public health preparedness, lead exposure, drinking water treatment, Legionnaires’ disease, psychological factors, environmental justice and legal issues.
PUBLIC VERSUS PRIVATE DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS
Thomas Lyon holds the Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, with appointments in both the Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources and Environment. He is a leader in using economic analysis to understand corporate environmental behavior and how it is shaped by emerging government regulations, nongovernmental organizations and consumer demands. He is currently researching how changes in ownership structure (i.e., privatization) affect the quality of water provided by drinking water systems.
“On average, privately owned water systems tend to have more violations of EPA standards than municipally owned systems, other things being equal,” he said. “But Flint provides a stark example of how poorly government provision of water supply can perform.”
Contact: 734-615-1639, [email protected]
Wren Montgomery is a visiting research scholar at the Erb Institute for Sustainable Enterprise and an assistant professor at the University of Windsor. Her research merges business and sustainability, and explores emerging pressures on increasingly scarce water resources. Research topics include public versus private ownership of water systems, drinking water quality, the U.N.’s Human Right to Water, and growing challenges to drinking water access and affordability.
“The Detroit water shutoffs and the Flint water crisis are not mere anomalies,” she said. “The global water crisis—and the ‘water wars’ that accompany it—is reaching North America. As water resources become more valuable, residential, industrial and environmental demands will increasingly conflict. Clean, safe and affordable drinking water can no longer be simply taken for granted, but must be actively protected.”
Contact: 519-253-3000 Ext. 4291, [email protected]
LEAD EXPOSURE
Dana Dolinoy, an associate professor of environmental health sciences and nutritional sciences at the School of Public Health, analyzes the effects of developmental lead exposure on outcomes in children and adults later in life.
“Lead is a persistent environmental toxicant with potentially significant effects even at blood levels consistent with the lowest CDC recommended action threshold,” she said.
Contact: 734-647-3155, [email protected]
Alfred Franzblau is a professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Public Health with many years of experience in the evaluation and assessment of occupational and environmental lead exposure among adults.
Contact: 734-763-2758, [email protected]
Sharon Swindell, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical School, can give an overview of the sources of lead exposure, preventive measures, possible impacts on children and guidelines regarding management, if lead exposure is identified.
“Any lead exposure in childhood is of great concern, especially in younger children during important stages of brain development,” she said.
Contact: 734-649-1325, [email protected]
Rita Loch-Caruso is a professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Public Health and director of the Michigan Center on Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease. Her research probes how exposure to environmental chemicals may be harmful for pregnancy, with a current focus on preterm birth.
“Lead poisoning is a notorious public health hazard. There are decades of research that document a multitude of health effects from exposure to lead at levels that are still too common, particularly in older cities,” she said. “The contamination of household water from the city’s water supply in Flint has created a public health crisis that puts children, in particular, at risk.”
Contact: 734-936-1256, [email protected]
Stuart Batterman is a professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Public Health whose research addresses environmental impact assessment, human exposure and health risk assessment. He works on exposure measures that can be used in risk assessments and epidemiological studies, measuring toxic compounds found as pollutants in drinking water and ambient and indoor air.
“Lead exposure can occur due to contaminated air, drinking water, household dust and paint, soil and certain household items,” he said. “These sources and exposure pathways need to be identified and then eliminated to protect public health.”
Contact: 734-763-2417, [email protected]
Richard Neitzel is an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Public Health and director of the U-M Exposure Research Lab. His research focuses on the characterization of exposures to heavy metals, including lead, as well as auditory and vestibular health effects associated with these exposures.
“While neurological effects of heavy metals have been known for hundreds of years, we are only now beginning to appreciate the possible effects of lead on the auditory and balance systems, which play a key role in child development,” he said.
Contact: 734-763-2870, [email protected]
Sung Kyun Park, assistant professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences, is an expert on the cumulative health effects of environmental pollutants, such as air pollution and heavy metals (including lead). He says lead levels can be evaluated better in bone rather than in blood because of long half-life of bone lead.
“Exposure assessment is critical to evaluate health effects by current Flint lead poisoning, especially in vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women and older adults,” he said. “Other potential contaminants in the Flint water supply also need to be evaluated.”
Contact: (734) 936-1719, [email protected]
DRINKING WATER QUALITY, TREATMENT AND FILTRATION
Chuanwu Xi is an associate professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Public Health and director of its Global Environmental Health program. He is a microbiologist and microbial ecologist whose research focuses on biofilms, water quality and treatment, and human health. His research studies water quality in different regions of the world with a particular focus on the impact of biofilms on water quality.
“Corrosive water can wash off scaling and biofilms developed on pipe surfaces over years, which could lead to elevated turbidity, microbial contamination, lead level in bulk water and increases in risk of water related diseases,” he said. “Filters and boiling water are effective short-term solutions before tap water meets drinking water quality standard and safe use.”
Contact: (734) 615-7594, [email protected]
Joseph Eisenberg, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an expert on infectious disease epidemiology and has 20 years of experience in microbial risk assessment work focused on water quality. He is part of a group of scientists from around the country who are involved with the Modeling Infectious Disease Agents Study, an NIH-funded program that focuses on infectious disease transmission modeling with a particular focus on waterborne pathogens.
“Flint exemplifies the larger issue that decaying urban water and sanitation infrastructure in the U.S. and worldwide leaves many cities vulnerable to similar public health catastrophes,” he said.
Contact: (734) 764-5435, [email protected]
Terese Olson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is an expert in disinfection and disinfection byproducts in water systems. Her current research involves “point-of-use” water filters like the activated carbon devices Flint residents have received to connect to their taps. She has found that such filters—while effective at removing metals—can encourage the growth of microbes and possibly pathogens. That could pose problems for people with compromised immune systems. Olson is also concerned about how long the filters will be effective.
“These filters are very important as a short-term solution for households with high lead levels in their water,” she said. “However, there is a need to confirm the safety of this strategy over time for a broader range of water quality parameters, not just lead.”
Video: Flint water filter warning | Article in The Conversation: The science behind the Flint water crisis; corrosion of pipes, erosion of public trust
Contact: 734-647-1747, [email protected]
Lut Raskin, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, studies drinking water systems including filtration, disinfection and distribution systems. Her work focuses primarily on beneficial microbes for drinking water treatment and bacterial pathogens in drinking water, and how disinfectants and antimicrobials affect those microbes.
“With regards to the future of the Flint crisis, we are particularly worried about the long-term impacts on microbial and chemical water quality,” she said. “The interplay of low levels of residual disinfectants, such as chlorine in the distribution system and home plumbing and increased nutrient and metal availability, will make it necessary to monitor the Flint water system in greater detail than typically required by regulations to avoid further public health impacts, particularly in the summer due to seasonal effects.”
Contact: 734-647-6920, [email protected]
Glen Daigger is a professor of engineering practice with broad expertise in urban water management and water treatment technologies.
“It was Benjamin Franklin who commented that no one knows the worth of water until the well runs dry,” he said. “The point is that water is much more than just a financial issue. The cost of water should be reasonable, and it should be priced and provided in a fashion that is equitable—which does not mean that all pay the same. The positive impacts of good water management significantly exceed the cost.”
Contact: 734-647-3217, [email protected]
Nancy Love, professor of civil and environmental engineering, is a licensed professional engineer with expertise in water quality engineering and design as it pertains to wastewater and drinking water systems. She has also studied the effectiveness of household tap water filters, and how water treatment approaches change that.
“It turns out that point-of-use devices change the composition of bacteria that consumers are exposed to,” Love said. “This is not necessarily a bad thing, depending upon the quality of the filter unit and the water it is receiving, but what we want to ensure is that this large-scale deployment of point-of-use filters in Flint is managed in a way that ensures the filters do what we want and need them to do to protect consumers. This is going to require a coordinated monitoring effort in concert with the filters.”
Contact: 734-763-9664, [email protected]
LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE
Michele Swanson is a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Medical School. Her laboratory has studied the life cycle of Legionella pneumophila, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease, for more than 20 years.
“Because people only acquire Legionnaires’ disease from contaminated water or soil, identifying where the Flint patients were exposed to Legionella is key to stopping the outbreak,” she said.
Contact: 734-647-7295, [email protected]
Anthony Courey is an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care, and medical director of respiratory therapy and critical care support services at the U-M Medical School. He can discuss Legionnaires’ disease and the bacterium that causes it.
Contact: 734-763-9077, [email protected]
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Pamela Davis-Kean is a professor of psychology and research professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development. Her expertise includes the role that families, schools and significant others play in the development of children.
“The issue of children being exposed to lead in Flint right now is not just an issue we will be dealing with the next few months but one that will impact these children for years and even in the generations to come,” she said. “It will be increasingly important that parents monitor their children’s academic and social development in school.”
Contact: 734-763-9719, [email protected]
Ethan Kross, assistant professor of psychology and faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research, is an expert on how people control their emotions, including stress.
“This clearly creates a major stressor that families will be challenged to cope with for quite some time,” he said.
Contact: 734-763-5640, [email protected]
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Paul Mohai, professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, has conducted numerous studies examining disproportionate environmental burdens in low-income and people of color communities in Michigan and nationally.
“Disproportionate environmental burdens and concerns about the related health impacts in low-income and people of color communities in the U.S. has been a long-time concern among community residents, activists and academics,” he said.
Contact: 734-763-4598, [email protected]
LEGAL ISSUES
Peter Jacobson is a professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health and director of the Center for Law, Ethics, and Health. His research focuses on public health law and public health systems and services.
“We need to understand exactly why the authorities failed to act in a timely way,” he said. “Just as important, it’s a reminder as to why the failure to invest adequate resources in our public health system is a problem the state of Michigan needs to address.”
Contact: 734-936-0928, [email protected]
COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS
Trina Shanks, associate professor of social work, conducts research on poverty and child well-being, public policy, and community and economic development.
“Given the harm that Flint children and residents have had to endure for nearly two years, it is time for a forward-thinking response that not only ensures clean water, but also helps residents recover wealth losses and gives Flint children the supports necessary to be successful in school and adulthood,” she said. “One idea is to establish a Health and Compensation Fund for the victims of water contamination in Flint.”
Contact: 734-764-7411, [email protected]
____________________________________________________________________
GOVERNMENT ETHICS, CULTURE AND OVERSIGHT
David Mayer, associate professor of management and organizations, researches social and ethical issues in organizations.
“It is critical for the government to have a culture where employees can and do feel safe to speak up, and that the words of employees (and citizens) are appropriately addressed.”
Contact: 734-936-1262, [email protected]
Jenna Bednar, professor of political science, is an expert on state government and federalism and can discuss the state and intergovernmental political process as it relates to the Flint water crisis.
“The Flint water crisis happened because of a series of very bad decisions taken because of a toxic political climate,” she said. “Snyder’s business-like approach (to governance) values the bottom line. The bottom line here is that responsibility for creating that toxic decision-making environment belongs with the legislature as well as with the governor.”
Contact: 734-615-5165, [email protected]
