Marc Edwards Character Analysis in What the Eyes Don’t See

Marc Edwards is a civil and environmental engineer who was instrumental in bringing to light both the Washington, D.C. and Flint, Michigan water crises. One of the world’s leading experts in water corrosion in home plumbing, the eccentric Marc Edwards caught Mona’s attention when Elin told her about Marc’s role in exposing a lead-leaching problem in D.C.—and the “radioactive” reputation he earned in the process. When Marc, who’d gotten wind of a potential crisis in Flint, traveled to Michigan to conduct some research and hold a press conference, Mona requested to meet with him—and she was grateful to find a friend and ally in Marc. Over the months that followed, Marc supported Mona’s research and joined her as one of the primary whistleblowers in the Flint crisis.

Marc Edwards Character Timeline in What the Eyes Don’t See

The timeline below shows where the character Marc Edwards appears in What the Eyes Don’t See. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Community Values and Collective Duty Theme Icon

...the water supply. Even the city’s sturdy copper pipes were degrading rapidly. Tests conducted by Marc Edwards, a civil engineer contracted by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), found over... (full context)

But as soon as Marc’s findings made their way back to WASA, a cover-up began. The EPA discontinued his subcontract,... (full context)

Marc continued his own independent research, eventually concluding that more that 42,000 children in D.C. under... (full context)

Racism and Environmental Injustice Theme Icon

...the county health director, to Elin. Elin replied with a link to a report that Marc Edwards, the corrosion expert from the D.C. crisis, had posted to his Flint Water Study... (full context)

Marc Edwards and his team continued their research in the meantime, releasing results online that indicated... (full context)

Mona got word that Brad Wurfel, the mouthpiece for the MDEQ, was going after Marc Edwards and his research team in the press. Mona was agitated and angry about Wurfel’s... (full context)

Even though Elin thought it was risky for Mona to reach out to the “radioactive” Marc Edwards, Mona knew she was onto something—and that she had to start laying the groundwork... (full context)

Family, Tradition, and Strength Theme Icon

...application to the institutional review board, or IRB. She found Jenny watching a broadcast of Marc Edwards in front of Flint City Hall, explaining that Flint’s water was 19 times as... (full context)

Elin came by Hurley to pick Mona up for their lunch with Marc—Dean Dean was meeting them, too. At the restaurant, Mona began sharing some of her latest... (full context)

Over lunch, Marc warned Mona that they had a long road ahead of them. Flint had definitely been... (full context)

Mona could tell that Marc was a person with a clear moral compass, and that he would be a great... (full context)

...She told him that she’d gotten nowhere with the county or the state, but that Marc Edwards was also conducting his own research—and his results were bad, too. Kirk, Mona, and... (full context)

...interpret the influx of data available to them after their IRB approval. They consulted with Marc about their study design, and Marc urged them to use the same months of each... (full context)

Marc Edwards, meanwhile, had been hard at work writing the mayor, the health department, the governor’s... (full context)

...from a national newspaper would make it difficult for the state to discredit Mona’s work. Marc Edwards also sent the story to a local newspaper, The Flint Journal. Mona was concerned... (full context)

...the professional health and medical worlds. Kildee and Ananich’s offices were behind them, as were Marc Edwards and some of his “EPA buddies,” such as Miguel Del Toral. (full context)

In March of 2016, Miguel Del Toral came to town. His back was bothering him, and so... (full context)

Mona looks back on a time when she ran into Marc in D.C.—they were both there for a meeting of the EPA drinking water committee at... (full context)

After a successful hearing, Marc took Mona aside and complimented her on how good she was at advocating for her... (full context)

...knew that throughout the Flint crisis, she was standing “on the shoulders of giants” like Marc, Alice Hamilton, John Snow, and Bryant himself. (full context)