We the poisoned Exposing the Flint water crisis cover-up and the poisoning of 100,000 Americans

In this impassioned debut exposé, journalist Chariton details the official decisions that led to a public health crisis in Flint, Mich., and its subsequent cover-up. In the early 2010s, Republican governor Rick Snyder "hijack power away" from local elected officials in "predominately minority cities" such as Flint, appointing his own "emergency managers" to run them. That power grab led in 2014 to Flint switching water sources, from the Detroit municipal supply to the Flint River. The water, which the city began distributing without testing, was polluted and did not contain federally regulated anti-corrosion chemicals to stop antiquated lead pipes from leaching; residents began suffering ill effects, including rashes and cognitive deterioration ("Kids I met were forgetting letters in the alphabet," Chariton reports). As the outcry escalated, Snyder's administration began shredding documents and trying to buy off victims. In 2019, a newly elected state prosecutor halted the investigation begun by her predecessor (whose files Chariton managed to access). Chariton's narrative is powered by indignation as he chronicles the catastrophe's legacy (including increased cancer rates) and jaw-dropping government malfeasance ("The corruption was so shameless, I thought I had misheard," he writes of learning about the attempted payoffs). It's a vital report on a horrific scandal. (Aug.)

An investigative reporter digs into the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, to call out failures in government oversight and in officials elected to serve the people. Chariton's professional interest in the crisis began in 2016 after he spoke with a local activist. He learned that the decaying city, once a thriving exemplar of middle-class prosperity, now threatened the health of its citizens. Further investigations Chariton conducted over the next eight years made it clear that much of the blame lay in governmental corruption that began with former governor Rick Snyder, who repeatedly ignored warnings about the toxicity of Flint River water, and an administration that misappropriated funds meant to assist Flint residents. Cuts in funding for oversight efforts, disguised as bids to save the cash-strapped city money, only added to the problem. When officials initially changed the source of Flint's water from Lake Huron (and more specifically, the Detroit Water and Sewage Department) to the heavily polluted Flint River, the city's water plant did not test for carcinogens. Government negligence led to harmful levels of lead and Legionella bacteria making their way into Flint homes through brown-looking water that "smelled like wet cardboard, dirty feet, or straight up chemicals." Over time, residents--many of whom were poor and/or Black--developed everything from rashes and loss of hair to life-threatening cancer and liver, kidney, and central nervous system ailments. Chariton's dedication to exposing the truth behind the lies and coverups is admirable, even though the amount of detail he offers at times slows the narrative down. Nonetheless, the author delivers important journalism that serves as a sobering reminder that in the face of government injustice, it is up to citizens to spread awareness and take action. The book includes a foreword by Erin Brockovich. An impassioned and enlightening work of current events. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.