2 To Receive Awards For Exposing Flint Water Problems

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Two people who exposed problems from lead-tainted water in Flint have been selected for MIT Media Lab Disobedience awards.

Flint pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Virginia Tech University engineering professor Marc Edwards will receive the award Friday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They will share a $250,000 cash prize.

An individual and two groups also will be honored as finalists.

Organizers say the award highlights effective, responsible, ethical disobedience across disciplines like scientific research, civil rights, freedom of speech and human rights.

Lead began leaching into Flint homes from old pipes after the city began using corrosive water from the Flint River in 2014.

Edwards found Flint's water was corrosive and leaching lead. Hanna-Attisha reported high levels of lead in the blood of children.

Flint has since returned to Detroit's water system.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)