Flint mother: 'Governors, come bathe in our godawful, burning blue-green bath water'

A woman in Flint, Michigan has posted a video of her running a bath full of poisoned water two years after the crisis was discovered and has invited lawmakers and governors to bathe in it.

Melissa Mays, a resident and mother of three in Flint, posted a list of harmful chemicals that were found in her water supply, including chloroform and dichlorobenzene, analyzed by Scott Smith, chief scientist at Water Defense.

“I am done with the smells, I’m done with the pain, I’m done with being on sick leave I haven’t received a paycheck since December of 2015,” she said.

Ms Mays reported that her water had turned from yellow a year ago to a blue-green colour, which may look like a “nice spa” but emits an odor so strong she has to use an inhaler, open a window and keep the air vent turned on.

She said the carcinogenic byproducts in her water, which can be inhaled, affect organs like the liver, brain, lungs, and that it burns her eyes, nose and throat.

“I’m tired of your experiment, we are not your lab rats,” she said.

Governor Rick Snyder has been accused of knowing about the lead-contaminated water for at least a year before the crisis was exposed.

Ms Mays called out Governor Snyder and Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee for failing to send more money to Flint until October 2016.

“Come live with us, with this smell and this god awful water that burns your skin and tell me how quickly you would send money to your own family if this was them,” said Ms Mays.

An article in the New York Times exposed that so many residents - at least 538 so far - were experiencing similar symptoms and the anxiety was so high that Dr Nicole Lurie, assistant secretary at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, said she had asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency to work with Flint to investigate whether the water was leading to the skin problems.

“You wonder what you’re stepping into when you’re getting into the shower and just trying to make it as quick as possible,” Rev. Rigel J Dawson told the paper.

Flint authorities allegedly switched the water supply from Detroit to the local river in 2014 to save money. They allegedly ignored the corrosive effect that the river water had on the old, lead pipes, resulting in lead leaking into the water supply.