Feds authorize $15 million to address lead exposure in Flint
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration today signed off on making $15 million available to Genesee County officials to fight the aftereffects of lead contamination in Flint's drinking water on women, children and families.
The funding — which was authorized in legislation passed late last year by Congress and signed into law by then-President Barack Obama — will go to the county's Healthy Start Program, which provides prenatal care, medical screening, and nutrition and other services.
Congress passed more than $120 million in funding for Flint in response to the drinking water crisis there. Lead levels in the drinking water rose sharply beginning in 2014 after the city switched water supplies and the state failed to require corrosion controls to keep lead from leaching from old water pipes throughout Flint.
International attention was focused on Flint after it was learned that lead levels in children's blood had spiked after the change in the water. Lead can damage child brain development and has been linked to behavioral problems, miscarriages and adult illnesses, as well. It can remain in a person's body for decades.
Read more: http://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/06/30/federal-funding-lead-exposure-flint/443273001/