''I’m not so sure Flint is the community we want to go out on a limb for.'' -- Debbie Baltazar, EPA

[Octafish]

24. Emails Indicate Flint Lead Tests Withheld from Public at Snyder's Command

Emails Indicate Flint Lead Tests Withheld from Public at Snyder's Command

'If there was any question as to whether the Snyder administration was more concerned about their public image or public health, this should provide a definitive answer.'

by Andrea Germanos, staff writer
Common Dreams, Feb. 11, 2016

Adding to controversy over what top officials knew and when regarding Flint's water crisis and resulting health epidemic, emails obtained by the Flint Journal suggest that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder told state officials to suppress lead testing results, both from local health officials and the community, while they figured out how to present the information to the public.

The emails, which are from October and November 2015 and were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, include correspondence by Jim Henry, Genesee County's environmental health supervisor, to county Health Officer Mark Valacak, and correspondence between Henry and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Laboratory Director George Krisztian.

They "show growing frustration on the county's part as it attempted to obtain information from the DEQ," the Journal reports.

Testing on buildings within the Flint School District began on Oct. 2, and Snyder gave a press conference Oct. 8 admitting that lead levels exceeded federal limits. At one school, Freeman Elementary School, levels were six times higher than federal limits.

SNIP...

"Damage from lead poisoning is irreversible," (Lonnie) Scott added. "Delaying the decision to alert the community to high levels of lead in their water for even a day is too long. The decision to delay the release of critical lead test information is a decision that children and families in Flint will have to live with for the rest of their lives."

SOURCE: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/02/11/emails-indicate-flint-lead-tests-withheld-public-snyders-command