When toxins are released into the air or water, people downstream from that reality need to be informed immediately.

I think the reason for the six month window is to allow for the toxin being a temporary problem. In other words, the toxin has to be evaluated for exposure to the public, the amount of exposure and wheater or not the exposure was serious to raise the awareness to the public. It is politics that has crossed the line of "Shhhhh, it is probably nothing." It probably prevents lawsuits.

Dave Jansen, former senior assistant director for the Genesee County drain office, testifies April 20 during a preliminary examination for employees of the Department of Environmental Quality in this Flint Journal file photo.

August 8, 2018
By Ron Fonger

Flint -- State regulators (click here) received clear, early evidence of serious problems with the Flint water system almost immediately after the city began using the Flint River as its water source, an expert witness told a Genesee District Court Judge Wednesday, Aug. 8.

Dave Jansen, a former senior assistant director for the Genesee County Drain Commissioner's Office, said testing showed elevated levels of total trihalomethanes in Flint water almost as soon as the switch was made to the river.

City and state officials never notified the public of the problem with TTHMs until the city was required to send warning notices to water customers six months later, detailing the failure to prevent high levels of the chlorine byproduct, which over many years can cause liver, kidney or central nervous system problems and an increased risk of cancer.

Jansen reviewed early reports from the operation of the Flint water plant during the continuation of the preliminary examinations for current and former DEQ officials Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby, Liane Shekter-Smith and Patrick Cook on Wednesday....

That six month waiting period or pause or whatever one calls it. is probably written in by a lawyer. It has no solid basis in the science of community public health. No self-respecting health official would write such a provision.

There are more lawsuits to file with an increase in the unofficial death toll from the Flint Water Crisis now reaching 119. The additional deaths all occurred within the period of time the first 12 contracted Legionella bacteria.

It is now a cluster of deaths and not simply an outbreak. That changes everything legally.

July 24, 2018
By Kayla Ruble

The death toll in Flint, Michigan, (click here) from contaminated water may be much higher than state health officials have acknowledged, an ongoing FRONTLINE investigation has found. The likely killer: Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria.

Officially, 90 people were sickened and 12 died from exposure to waterborne Legionella bacteria during the 18 months that the city of Flint drew its water from the Flint River in 2014 and 2015. But FRONTLINE’s investigation has found 119 deaths from pneumonia during that time, some of which scientists say could actually have been caused by Legionella. The tally is based on an extensive review of death records and interviews with epidemiologists and other scientists who are experts in the field of infectious diseases....

When Flint residents state they are still having problems with the lead contamination in their homes; LISTEN! Unfortunately, the method used by some contractors have now created liability for their inferior work.

Lead service lines have been overlooked in some Flint homes (click here)