The drinking water expert from Virginia Tech, who first uncovered the lead contamination in Flint Michigan’s water supply, will lead ongoing testing of the water there.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver has commissioned Marc Edwards, a professor of environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, to pick up where he left off and continue monitoring the water after he first detected the problem last year.
“It was THE worst led in water we had seen in 25 years, and I have seen a lot. A child drinking a single glass could go from zero lead in their blood to 8 times federal levels of lead poisoning.”
Edwards will report directly to Mayor Weaver. She said the team’s work will be funded by private donations.
A report in the Washington post this week said area residents made signs and displayed them at what’s become a kind of real life message board.
In big black capitol letters it said, quote; “You want our trust? We want Virginia Tech.” Locals say they don’t trust the firm the city had first said it would hire to do the water testing.
Marc Edwards and his research team will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, about their work in collaboration with Flint, Michigan, residents that exposed widespread lead-in-water contamination. On Wednesday, Edwards will appear at a special town hall meeting on MSNBC at 9 p.m.
