A US court on Wednesday (November 10) gave final approval to pay more than $ 600 million to victims poisoned by lead contamination in the city of Flint's drinking water system, one of the worst health scandals in states -United.
"The agreement reached here is a tremendous success for a number of reasons, one of which is that it establishes a coherent full compensation program and schedule for each eligible person
,
"
said the court judge. of Michigan, Judith Levy, in her ruling.
To read also In Flint, the primaries under a lead screed
The agreement, which provides for compensation of $ 626 million to victims, to be paid in large part by the state of Michigan, was announced in August 2020, after tough negotiations that lasted 18 months. As the court document specifies, these funds are primarily intended for the children of this former industrial city, which has become a symbol of social injustice in the United States, but also for adults who can provide evidence of illnesses linked to their lead contamination.
The tragedy was caused by the decision of the governor (Republican at the time) of Michigan to change the city's water supply in 2014, as a measure of economy.
Acidic, polluted water from the local river, preferred over pure water from nearby Lake Huron, has eaten into the distribution system's pipes, exposing residents to lead poisoning.
Some 18,000 to 20,000 children lived in Flint at the time of this dramatic pollution.
Read alsoFlint, the city "where it is not good to live"
For many, the Flint poison water scandal exemplifies
"environmental racism"
at work in the United States.
This phrase refers to the disproportionate exposure of African Americans to pollutants in the air, water or soil.
Some 57% of Flint's 100,000 residents are black and more than a third live below the poverty line.
