Flint Phenomenon, Episode 1

The first episode of NACE International's Flint Phenomenon series discusses the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, including the causes of lead release in the drinking water and how the situation was handled. It includes discussion on the difficulty in identifying and replacing lead pipe in Flint and throughout the United States. The episode includes discussion with panelists Marc Edwards, who lead the team that collected the water samples in Flint, and Darren Lytle with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Meet the Panelists

Darren Lytle, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Darren Lytle is an environmental engineer with EPA’s Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since beginning work at EPA in 1991, his primary goal has been to research the quality of drinking water. Over the years, Lytle has investigated and published works on drinking water systems, including work on distribution system corrosion control and water quality (e.g., red water control, lead and copper corrosion control); filtration (emphasis on removal of particles, and microbial contaminants and pathogens from water); biological water treatment; and iron and arsenic removal.

Lytle holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Akron an M.S. in environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois.

Marc Edwards, Virginia Tech

Marc Edwards is a University Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he teaches courses in environmental engineering, applied aquatic chemistry, and engineering ethics. His research group conducted the investigative science uncovering the 2001-2004 D.C. Lead Crisis, the 2014-2016 Flint Water Disaster, and illegal pesticide dosing to water of Denmark SC 2008-2018.

Time Magazine dubbed Edwards “The Plumbing Professor” in 2004, listing him amongst the 4 most important “Innovators” in water from around the world.  The White House awarded him a Presidential Faculty Fellowship in 1996, he won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2007, and in 2013 Edwards’ was the 9^th recipient (in a quarter century) of the IEEE Barus Award for “courageously defending the public interest at great personal risk.”

In 2016 he was named amongst TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people in the World, the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine, Politico Magazine’s Top 50 Visionaries who have transformed American politics, Foreign Policy Magazine's 100 World’s Greatest Thinkers, and was short-listed amongst Flint whistleblowers as Time person(s) of the year.

He was co-recipient of the inaugural 2017 MIT Disobedience Award, and received the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility award (2018) and the Hoover Humanitarian Medal (2019).