© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Doctor: Strongest link yet between water, kids' lead levels

Paula Friedrich
/
Michigan Radio

A pediatrician who raised concerns about elevated lead levels in children's blood in Flint, Michigan, says a new study provides the strongest evidence yet of a link between those levels and the cash-strapped city's water system.

In a report released Monday, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of Hurley Children's Hospital and other experts said a more refined analysis shows that areas in Flint with the highest levels of lead in tap water corresponded with where children with the highest blood-lead levels lived.

Hanna-Attisha says the percentage of children with abnormally high levels more than doubled after the Flint River became the city's drinking water source. In some areas, the increase was even higher.

Flint stopped tapping Detroit's water system to save money in April 2014. The decision was reversed in October.

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting.
Related Content