Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene May-June 2016 Vol. 11 No.3 | Page 38

Roundup

Water Employee Fired After Talking To Press about
Lead Problems
By Sara Jerome

A water utility employee
in Jackson, MS, was fired
in March after talking
to reporters about lead
concerns.

Jonathan Yaeger
discovered “lead
Credit: “cool revolution,” Whistleblowers ©
components in a city
water main and then told the public,” The Clarion-Ledger
reported. Yaeger was working as an engineer in training
“when he found a corroded band of lead connecting two
pipes while helping replace a water main,” the report said.
“I was disappointed in the decision of the director to, in
my view, put the reputation of the city before the safety of
the public,” Yaeger said, per the report. “I think what I did
is ethically right.”
The city’s termination letter to Yaeger said he portrayed
the city “in a false light, which may be damaging to the
reputation of the department. Your assertions were
not accurate and lacked important context. You were
not authorized to take the portion of the pipe joint
nor provide this city property to a non-city employee,”
according to the report.
“Yaeger received a letter of termination March 23. Public
Works Director Kishia Powell says Yaeger’s actions
contributed to false information being provided to the
citizens of Jackson and possibly created unwarranted
public fear,” MLBT reported.
The city also argues that Yaeger violated ethical codes for
engineers by disclosing information without consent of
his employer, according to the Clarion-Ledger report.
Yaeger’s response: “The nature of a whistle-blower is
you’re unable to get the consent; therefore, you go beyond
what is employee protocol. I think that as a public servant,
my duty is to provide information that allows the public to
make informed decisions, not to keep secrets for the sake
of the city’s reputation.”
Yaeger took steps to handle the matter internally before
going to the press, he says. “When he first discovered the
lead joint, Yaeger said he took his concerns to officials in
his department, even offering to address City Council, but
they discouraged him from doing so,” the report said.
A spokesperson for the mayor told the newspaper: “It is
city policy not to comment on personnel matters.”
The need to alert the public about lead concerns has been
a hot topic in the aftermath of the lead contamination
crisis in Flint, MI, where public officials appeared to
withhold important information from customers.
For instance, one official resigned in January from the
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2016

regional EPA office overseeing Flint. At a congressional
hearing in March, members of both parties gave her an
earful about failing to warn the public, The New York
Times reported.
“There’s a special place in hell for actions like this,” said
Rep. Earl Carter, R-GA, referring to the failure to alert
Flint residents about lead problems.
National Poo Museum opens doors on Isle of Wight
A museum dedicated to excrement, with examples from
the animal and human world, has opened to the public.
The exhibition at the Isle of Wight Zoo features faeces
from animals such as elks and lions as well as a human
baby.
The National Poo Museum has been created by members
of the artist collective Eccleston George.
“Poo is all around us and inside us, but we ignore it,” said
co-curator Daniel Roberts.
Twenty illuminated resin spheres show off the different
types of faeces with facts hidden behind toilet lids on the
museum walls.
Samples of
faeces have
been gathered
from around the
world as well
as donations
received from
the Isle of
Organizers prepared the faeces using a specially-built Wight Zoo and
drying machine
Dinosaur Isle
museum.
The display also includes fossilized poo (coprolites)
dating back 140 million years as well as a tawny owl
pellet containing bones and teeth. It also covers issues
such as dog mess and the lack of access to sanitation in
developing countries.
Nigel George, one of the exhibition’s curators, said the
subject “provokes strong reactions”.
“Small children naturally delight in it but later we learn
to avoid this yucky, disease-carrying stuff, and that even
talking about poo is bad,” he said.
Image copyright PA Image caption The exhibition is set
to go on a tour of the UK “But for most of us, under the
layers of disgust and taboo, we’re still fascinated by it.”
Organizers prepared the faeces using a specially-built
drying machine - stick insect droppings were desiccated
completely in about an hour, while lions’ samples took a
fortnight to dry out.
The attraction is on show at the Sandown zoo through the
spring and summer before going on tour.