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Basic Sanitation
The right to water, according to the United Nations, entitles everyone to have access to enough water for personal and domestic use. The water should be safe, acceptable, accessible, and inexpensive.
The UN General Assembly passed resolution 64/292 on July 28, 2010, identifying the right to water and sanitation as human rights. Everyone has the legal right to get sanitation that is available, reasonably priced, safe, hygienic, secure, respect their culture, offers privacy, and upholds their dignity in all sectors of their lives.
It is rare to confine poverty to a few years. It is a cycle across many generations. Breaking this cycle becomes difficult for the current generation, and they get used to the living conditions. With time, even government agencies get complacent, and they let things flow.
No society, demography or geography being irrelevant, should have to deal with unhygienic living conditions. The committees in power have no excuse to overlook the sanitation needs of their people. But, there are a plethora of incidents of blatant government negligence that have caused deep suffering to the people.
Instances of Government Negligence/Fault
Baby Formula Shortage
The US markets faced a severe shortage of baby formula in the year 2022. Two infants died after consuming the Abbott infant formula. A massive scale of product recall saw a global supply chain crisis. Abbott shut down its largest manufacturing facilities for infant formula after an inquiry connected the plant’s bacteria to a fatal disease.
These stalwart companies have not kept room for any competition, and they leverage the mass trust of their consumers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s WIC program, known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children(WIC), has taken a large number of low-income women under its wings.
To keep the program’s cost down, Congress introduced legislation in 1989 mandating states to use competitive bidding to choose one manufacturer of infant formula. As many low-income parents were dependent on the formula, Congress’s action resulted in the bid winners in each state controlling the market for that product.
Since then, Abbott, Gerber, and Mead Johnson have been in control of the US baby formula industry. Their dominance of the market has made it a disincentive for new brands to come up. Hence, the recent withdrawal of Abbott’s products from shop shelves has left many parents with limited options.
Camp Lejeune Water Crisis
The Camp Lejeune water contamination crisis is one of the worst examples of government negligence in US history. In 1982, the water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune was contaminated with toxic, carcinogenic chemicals.
Between 1953 and 1987, more than a million inhabitants at Camp Lejeune were exposed to toxic water for their daily use. These included the families of veterans, workers in the area, and visitors, who lived at the Camp for 30 days or more.
In many cases, prolonged exposure to toxic water resulted in people suffering from diseases like adult leukemia, Aplastic anemia, cancers of the bladder, kidney, and liver, and Parkinson’s diseases, to name a few.
The contamination of water at Camp Lejeune occurred from spills and leaks from underground storage tanks, waste disposal sites, and businesses. The prevalence of birth defects and childhood illnesses like leukemia, lymphoma, and neural tube disorders was higher in children at Camp Lejeune.
The four main contaminants found in the Camp Lejeune waters were:
- Tetrachloroethylene: Used as a dry cleaning solvent and an industrial chemical.
- Trichloroethylene: Used as a dry cleaning solvent, metal degreaser, and in cleaning supplies.
- Vinyl Chloride: Used to produce PVC pipes and a number of plastic items.
- Benzene: Used in the production of plastics and rubbers.
The water supplying the base housing and a number of other buildings contained volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as degreasers, dry cleaning solvents, and almost 70 other dangerous substances. These compounds can cause severe health complications.
The victims filed the Camp Lejeune Lawsuit to fight against the considerable human suffering and financial loss. TorHoerman Law, LLC, a leading legal firm, has been fighting hard to help victims of the Camp Lejeune Lawsuits and get justice.
The aforementioned crises put forth an alarming tale of government incompetencies and the severe effect they have on the population.
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is a federal legislation passed in 1946. It offers a legal mechanism for reimbursing those who have endured a personal injury, wrongful death, or property loss/damage as a result of the careless or wrongful act or omission of a federal government employee.
The United States, not the specific employee, is the defendant in such a lawsuit, and the United States is responsible for any consequent liability. A victim can make a claim under the FTCA, followed by filing a lawsuit in federal court.
Conclusion
The masses vote for their leaders. Hence, the people in power are accountable for their activities and are liable for punishment in the interest of the masses.
To contest heavy-duty agencies can be a tall ask, but you should never underestimate the power of a community. Change has to begin with you.
