Get Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts. WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI – For weeks this fall, a physician from West Bloomfield studied blood-lead levels in hundreds of Flint children, fighting to have her work acknowledged by skeptical state officials.

This week, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatric residency director at Flint's Hurley Children's Hospital,was honored by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners for her dogged pursuit of of the truth. The award comes as the mayor of Flint has asked for federal emergency relief to deal with a public health crisis that has grabbed national headlines and put pressure on state officials to disclose when they knew water from the Flint River contained unacceptable lead levels.

The financially struggling city turned off the taps to water from Detroit, which gets its supply from Lake Huron, and switched to water from the Flint River in a money-saving move in 2014. Related

Erin Brockovich Keeping an Eye on Flint's 'Poop Water' Almost immediately, the effects of the switch were being felt by Flint's children, and a study released in September by Hanna-Attisha confirmed their parents' worst fears. The proportion of children with above-average levels of lead in their blood had nearly doubled since the city began getting its water from the Flint River. The consequences of lead poisoning are serious and long lasting.

Lead's trail is virtually invisible, discoverable only through finger-prick blood test or when children begin showing signs of learning disabilities, reduced IQ, behavioral changes, anti-social behavior, anemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and a plethora of other neurological and behavioral problems that are thought to be irreversible, according to the World Health Organization. Hanna-Attisha. a 39-year-old mother of two, began her critical analysis after a late August dinner with friend who is a former Environmental Protection Agency expert, she told The Oakland Press.

"I know you work up in Flint and I've been hearing about the corrosion problem with the water," the friend, who grew up with Hanna-Attisha in Royal Oak, reportedly said. "I'm sure there's lead issues. Have you guys looked at lead levels in children?" Lead is a red-flag word for pediatricians.