I’ve been wondering for months where the engineers and chemists were when the decision was taken to not include anti-corrosion additives in the Flint, Michigan water supply. Finally, after all the hearings and trashing of Governor Snyder, this Associated Press piece gets to the instant of the actual ethical failure.
Mike Glasgow, the plant’s laboratory supervisor at the time, says he asked district engineer Mike Prysby of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality how often staffers would need to check the water for proper levels of phosphate, a chemical they intended to add to prevent lead corrosion from the pipes. Prysby’s response, according to Glasgow: “You don’t need to monitor phosphate because you’re not required to add it.”
Recalling the meeting Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press, Glasgow said he was taken aback by the state regulator’s instruction; treating drinking water with anti-corrosive additives was routine practice. Glasgow said his gaze shifted to a consulting firm engineer in attendance, who also looked surprised.
“Then,” Glasgow said, “we went on to the next question.”
That is the moment when somebody on the water plant side of the table should have resisted, and the people in that room are the ones who should bear the responsibility for what happened. Engineers and plant operators are licensed by the public, for the benefit of the public, and their first responsibility is to public health and safety.
It is not allright to allow stupid and dangerous things to be done just because some incompetent regulatory person says you can.