“Flint’s water crisis was not the first in this country and, tragically, without greater sunlight and public scrutiny, it will not be the last,” says OTG.
Read more in the Battle Creek Enquirer about how government secrecy contributed to the Flint crisis, and how transparency measures in its wake have not gone far enough to prevent future disasters.
In the case of Washington D.C., while the EPA knew in 2002 of the dangerous lead levels in Washington’s water, journalists and independent researchers had to fight, through research and FOIA requests, to gain the access to information needed to force officials to take action.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally admitted in 2010 it had misled the public on the dangers of D.C.’s drinking water, after years of contamination had affected the health and futures of hundreds of young children.