Lead poisoning in Flint: Mayor demands pipes be replaced

Replacing 15,000 lead pipes is the only way that residents of Flint, Michigan, can feel safe again in the wake of a tainted water scandal, Mayor Karen Weaver told reporters. “That’s the only way the community is going to have confidence in what’s going on.” Officials are accused of ignoring months of foul-smelling and discolored water, even as residents complained it was making them sick and tests showed elevated lead levels. Residents of the predominantly poor and black city of 100,000 have been using bottled water ever since October, when a paediatrician exposed the lead pipe poisoning. Weaver said crews could begin pulling out pipes within a month if she is able to secure the $55 million needed to replace 550 miles (885 kilometers) of aging, corroded lead pipes with new copper pipes. The work could be completed in about a year.

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