It took hundreds of thousands of dollars and multiple trips to Flint to analyze and prove the city's drinking water was toxic.
"No one would've known about it, you know, their future would've been destroyed. And you know, they just would've had higher rates of incarceration, anti-social behavior and they'd still be drinking that water today," explained Dr. Marc Edwards who headed the Flint Water Study research at Virginia Tech.
He spoke to faculty, staff and students at MSU Thursday about his team's work, hoping to inspire similar actions of public service.
He explained, "You just can't have these agencies that you pay to protect us allowing everyone to cheat and cover these problems up without hurting a whole bunch of people before it gets public attention."
It was a fight he won with a lot of support.
"I call Flint "Hero-town USA" because what these people did as scientists was incredible, to figure out what was hurting them; but secondly, all the people from outside that were able to show the harm that was being done in spite of these agencies," Dr. Edwards explained.
From the Michigan ACLU to the local health community to MSU's Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.
"We're going to be following these kids for twenty plus years to see their outcomes; but most importantly, we are going to be implementing and advocating for interventions that promote child development," Dr. Hanna-Attisha said.
It's work that is far from over.
She added, "This is our opportunity to flip the story, to build a model public health program, a center of excellence to not see the consequences of lead poisoning."
So when the emergency teams leave, the City will have a solid public healthcare infrastructure its people can be confident in.
Both doctors think the state is currently taking the right approach. That includes a $30 million emergency spending bill the legislature just passed. Governor Snyder is expected to sign it tomorrow.
