Ann Arbor, the next Flint?

NOTE: UPDATED 3/29/16

While the nation remains focused on the current water crisis in Flint, local student activists might be surprised to learn that the water used by the city of Ann Arbor is in danger of being contaminated by a plume of 1,4-dioxane, a toxic substance that was released into the area's groundwater as a result of a manufacturing process used for over 20 years by a local research company. Here's a video briefly explaining the compound:

 

 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUpcpWb0n7o

 The company, Gelman Sciences (now Pall Life Sciences), used the dioxane to help create medical filters from 1966 through 1986 before realizing it had leaked into the city's surrounding groundwater supply (Kuang, 1/28/16). 1,4-dioxane is considered to be hazardous at 3.5 parts per billion according to the EPA; however, this number is not uniformly accepted, as the State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) considers it to be hazardous at 85 parts per billion, which has been the number used to condemn over 120 homes on the west side of Ann Arbor since the contamination was known (Kuang, 1/28/16 and 2/26/16). Some fear that the plume could eventually reach Barton Pond or the Huron River, the primary drinking sources for the city in the coming years, but when this could potentially happen is unknown as the agreement between Pall and Washtenaw county only requires Pall to sporadically test contaminated wells (the reason why those homes were condemned) throughout the year, with no plan being developed to solve the issue long-term (Kuang, 1/28/16).

When I first learned of this issue, I was shocked: not only that it had happened in the first place and that people’s lives were significantly affected by this, but by the manner in which it was handled does not provide any sort of solution to it; as a result I believe this constitutes to be a failure of democracy. How? Firstly, before I go into my explanation as to why this is a democratic failure, let me explain the assumptions I am making about democracy and what it means:

·        The American notion of ‘democracy’ stems from our Constitution, and by extension the Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written by several of the Founding Fathers that detail how America will be governed under the Constitution and why the Constitution is the best way forward for the young nation.

·        The thoughts written in the Federalist Papers were inspired by the writings of previous political thinkers, mainly John Locke, who wrote that all people were born with rights to life, liberty and property, and the purpose of instituting government was to protect these rights from being infringed upon (Locke, 349-351).

·        Therefore, I see this issue as a failure of democracy to adequately protect the property rights of citizens, not only from the standpoint of the loss of people’s homes, but also the negative effects on their health, as Locke believes that a person’s body is also their property and cannot be infringed upon (Locke, 318-320).

Over the course of my next two posts, I will detail past efforts (if any) by the local government and Pall to help citizens affected by this issue, such as compensation for lost property/health problems, and will look to see if there are any future efforts being planned in order to gauge to what extent government has failed. Beyond that, I want to use this to launch a larger discussion about democracy in general: how can government make up for such a failure? Is government failure inevitable? If so, who or what can we hold accountable?

               Thanks for reading, check back in a couple of weeks for my next post.

Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Edited by Peter Laslett. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kuang, Brian. “Ann Arbor Well Water Continues to be Monitored for Contamination.” The Michigan Daily. https://www.michigandaily.com/section/news/ann-arbor-well-water-monitored-contamination. 1/28/16. Website.

Kuang, Brian. “City Council to Seek Answers Regarding Groundwater Contamination.” The Michigan Daily. https://www.michigandaily.com/section/news/city-council-seek-answers-regarding-groundwater-contamination. 2/26/16. Website.