Lead is a poison and ingesting poison constitutes poisoning

FLINT, MI — On August 29, over a dozen women dressed in white painter suits with a bright red broken heart confronted the Hurley Hospital Board of Managers regarding a member of its staff, a Dr. Hernan F. Gomez, who claimed that the rise in stillbirths in Flint due to the water crisis was “extremely unlikely.” Below are excerpts from a statement made to the board by Flint resident Melissa Mays.
Dear Hurley board,
I was here last year about the same doctor from Hurley doing the same thing: trying to diminish and dismiss the real damage that was done to the residents of Flint. Last year, Dr. Gomez tried saying we were all lead exposed, not lead poisoned, even though lead is a poison and ingesting poison constitutes poisoning.
What that does is tell residents that what was done to us is “not a big deal,” which is horrifying to residents who spoke up. Also, I spoke as an affected Flint resident with a history of medical billing and pointed out that “lead poisoning” and “lead exposure” have two different diagnosis codes, which leads to two different levels of care, effectively shorting poisoned residents out of proper healthcare and supports. Flint has had enough of this.
I’m here today as an affected Flint resident and as a woman who has given birth and has also miscarried. The same Dr. Gomez now says that he studied the blood lead levels of only 84 women, not necessarily pregnant women, just women of child-bearing age and decided to make the assumption that our water disaster and poisoning did not contribute to the massive increase in fetal death and decrease in fertility that occurred during that same time frame. I’m not a scientist but how is this good science or research?
Let’s remember what your very own Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha says about blood lead testing. Her October 12, 2018 deposition states, “blood lead levels have never been considered as a marker for exposure in Flint. Exposure has only been determined as a measure of consumption of the contaminated water. This has applied to all exposure-related recovery services.” So, if blood lead levels are not viewed as an accurate measure of lead ingestion, poisoning or retention in the body, why does your Dr. Gomez keep desperately trying to use them for his attempts at research?
It has become a clear pattern that Dr. Gomez spends his time writing papers to downplay and dismiss the Flint Water Crisis instead of trying to find ways to help the families suffering through the side effects as well as the unknowns. I do not believe this fits in with what a community medical center should be focusing on, especially during an ongoing crisis.
It is time that you actually DO SOMETHING this year about this because YOUR SILENCE = COMPLICITY. Thank you for your time.
• Melissa Mays
Editor’s Note: “Flint’s Deadly Water” – PBS Frontline exposes how the lead poisoning of thousands of Flint children also spawned one of the largest outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in U.S. history, and government cover-up. See pbs.org/video/flints-deadly-water-pwsj3m/