Download The Flint Water Crisis: Causes, Health Effects, and Chemical Processes and more Assignments Chemistry in PDF only on Docsity! Corrosion of Plumbing, Erosion of Confidence A Group Project by: Interesting Flint Water Crisis Facts I. Flint switched water sources in order to cut costs. II. Thousands of children have been exposed to lead. III. Bernie Sanders called for Gov. Snyder’s resignation. IV. Three state of emergencies have been issued for the Michigan city of Flint. V. An estimated $1.5 billion is the cost of repair for the city’s damaged distribution system. VI. lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Flint residents, including class-action suits and a federal lawsuits. Positive Control: Positive Control: A control group in an experiment that uses a treatment that is known to produce results. Our Positive Control: Flint River Water Negative Control: Negative Control: A control group in an experiment that uses a treatment that isn’t expected to produce results. Our Negative Control: Distilled Water Units of Measurement: Units of Measurement: When measuring anything, you need to match the measurement unit to the size of the quantity you are trying to measure. Our Units of Measurement: Micrograms
THE FLINT WATER CRISIS
The American city of Flint, Michigan, has been in the news recently due to the discovery of very
high levels of lead in its water supply. But how did this lead get there? Here's a brief explainer.
py
byt
(added to as!
ne rea
corrosion
When high levels of trihalomethanes were detected in Flint’s water, ferric chloride (FeCl,)
was added to improve removal of organic matter. However, this increased the water's
already high concentration of chloride ions, and as a result made the water more corrosive,
Orthophosphates are added to water to reduce the amount of lead leaching into it from
pipes. They do this by forming a layer of low-solubility lead-phosphate complexes inside
the pipe. This method of corrosion control was not used for the Flint River water supply.
ue: Chemicals contin ▪ Chloride is the major extracellular anion and contributes to many body functions including the maintenance of osmotic pressure, acid-base balance, muscular activity, and the movement of water between fluid compartments. ▪ However, this higher level of chlorine generated unsafe levels of trihalomethanes, compounds which are byproducts of the chlorine reacting with organic matter in the water. To combat this, ferric chloride was added. Ferric chloride, FeCl3, acts a coagulant, allowing for the removal of organic matter from the water. However, it also helps to increase the chloride concentration still further, making the water even more corrosive, and causing the concentration of lead in the water to increase ▪ . The corrosiveness of the Detroit water can be compared to that of the Flint River using their chloride to sulfate mass ratios (CSMR). For the Detroit water before the switch, this had a value of 0.45, indicating low corrosion. After the switch to Flint River water, this increased to 1.60, a value denoting very high corrosion” (Lead in the Water, flint river crisis, 2016) Chemicals: Process of corrosions during the crisis. CH104:Chapter 7- solutions, -Chemistry n.d.
