Something strange was happening inside LeeAnne's home. During the summer of 2014, 14-year-old J.D. had stomach severe pains, but his CT scan found nothing wrong. LeeAnne and her husband lost hair and suffered dizziness and headaches. LeeAnne even lost her eyelashes.
In January 2015, the city of Flint sent out a notice that the water supply, switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River to cut cost, contained high levels of trihalomethanes (三卤甲烷). The notice warned that people with poor immune (免疫的) systems might be at increased risk for liver, kidney, and nervous system problems but emphasized that the water was otherwise safe to drink.
Alarmed, LeeAnne researched the water supply and searched the Internet. Then she distributed a fact sheet to city officials, listing the side effects of exposure to trihalomethanes. Then she urged her neighbors to attend city council meetings, where they shared their health problems. Still, officials insisted the water was safe to drink. So LeeAnne demanded that the city test her water.
The results were disturbing. The trihalomethanes were the least of her problems. The lead levels in her water were nearly seven times the legal amount. But the city maintained her plumbing (管道) was the cause.
LeeAnne immediately had her children tested for lead. All the kids showed lead exposure. She read Flint's water quality reports and discovered the city wasn't applying the proper corrosion (腐蚀) control standards to its pipes; the standards prevent the metal in pipes from leaching into the water.
In March, a follow-up test of LeeAnne's water showed lead levels nearly 27 times higher than the EPA's threshold. LeeAnne's pipes could not be responsible for the high lead levels, since they were plastic.
In September, Virginia Tech lab released a report that concluded the Flint River water was 19 times more corrosive than the Detroit water.
The governor eventually admitted the water was unsafe. He ordered that Flint's water supply be switched back to Detroit's. In Washington, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint and ordered federal aid to help the city recover.
