Three state and city workers in Flint, Michigan, were charged with crimes Wednesday for their involvement in the city’s tainted water crisis.
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Flint utilities administrator Michael Glasgow was accused by Genesee District Court Judge Tracy Collier-Nix of tampering with evidence for allegedly doctoring test results to show there was less lead in city water than there actually was. He is also charged with willful neglect of office.
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees Steven Busch and Michael Prysby have also been charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence, and violating Michigan's Safe Drinking Water Act. The pair are also accused of impeding the Genesee County Health Department's investigation into a Legionella outbreak that left 12 people dead.
None of the individuals charged in the case have been arraigned.
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Flint, a city of about 100,000 people, was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager in 2014 when it switched its source of water from Detroit's municipal system to the Flint River to save money.
The river water was more corrosive than the Detroit supply and caused more lead to leach from aging pipes. Lead can be toxic, with children especially vulnerable.
The move has provoked a national controversy and prompted lawsuits by parents who say their children are showing dangerously high blood levels of lead.