Despite Concern, Study Finds No Increase In Fetal Deaths During Flint Water Crisis
Leading researchers who have underscored the health threat posed by lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan, have now published a study indicating that increased fetal death or decreased fertility cannot be attributed to the crisis, as some had feared it might.
“Neither model simulations nor vital records data are consistent with the hypothesis that there was an uptick in fetal deaths or decreased fertility attributable to water lead exposure during the [Flint water crisis],” per the study summary.
Following a switch in Flint drinking water sources that caused corrosion of outdated infrastructure and an increased presence of lead in effluent, a public health emergency was declared in 2015. The fallout since has been extensive, culminating recently in a proposal from President Biden to replace all such infrastructure throughout the country.
Among the many consequences of the crisis there was speculation that sustained consumption of the contaminated water may have caused issues with pregnancies and fetal health.
“Many in Flint have wondered if stillbirths between 2014 and 2016 were due to increased lead levels in the city’s drinking water,” Michigan Radio summarized. “A 2017 report suggested Flint had seen a 58% increase in fetal deaths. But the report was criticized by academics and the state health department.”
Using such reports as impetus to investigate further, researchers Siddhartha Roy and Marc A. Edwards — who have investigated the data around Flint’s crisis extensively — used scientific models to determine how miscarriage rates were impacted as a result of this crisis.
“No apparent differences were revealed in overall and race-specific stillbirth rates before, during, or after the [Flint water crisis],” per the study results summary.
“We have tried to look every which way that available models and available datasets could give us signals of possible increase in fetal deaths,” Roy told Michigan Radio. “And we found nothing.”
Still, that does not necessarily mean that similar consequences could not have stemmed from an increase in lead contamination of drinking water in Flint.
“Roy says that they could not rule out whether some miscarriages could have been caused by high lead exposure,” per Michigan Radio.
To read more about how lead contamination impacts drinking water, visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Distribution Solutions Center.