The Public Broadcasting Service program NOVA, the most-watched science series on American television, will air an episode looking at the chemistry and engineering behind the three-year-old lead-contaminated water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
According to MLive, PBS issued a news release announcing the program, which will premier on May 31 at 9 p.m.
“In a money saving maneuver, the city of Flint, Michigan — under the authority of a state-appointed emergency manager — switched its municipal water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River,” the news release says.
“Unbeknownst to the city officials at the time, this switch would trigger a chemical chain reaction with devastating results: thousand of children exposed to lead poisoning, and very likely two outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, claiming 12 lives.”
The program will feature interviews with people who played critical roles in the water crisis including Flint resident LeAnne Walters, Environmental Protection Agency whistleblower Miguel Del Toral, Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards and Hurley Medical Center pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.
NOVA airs 9 p.m. Wednesdays on most PBS stations.
I hope this program shows just how polluted the water in Flint still is, and helps people understand how this is bad on so many levels for the poor people who live there.
Talking to Dr. Hanna-Attisha likely means she will get to explain the impact lead poisoning has on children’s health. The children of Flint are the most forgotten victims in this entire tragedy.
Read more at MLive.
