By Jackie Lombardo, SafeMinds Research Committee Member
You’ve likely been reading more about lead in drinking water since the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Yes, lead is bad. Too many cases of preventable lead poisoning continue to occur in the U.S. Rich, poor, old, and young; it doesn’t matter. Lead affects us all.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Reuters found lead poisoning across the U.S. at least double those in Flint, and more than 1,100 communities had elevated blood tests at least four times higher.
- Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects—according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there is no safe level of lead for children.
- Children absorb more lead than adults. Up to 50 percent of the lead a child ingests can be absorbed, compared to only 10 percent in adults.
- Lead in the body can cause brain damage and developmental problems, including learning disabilities, impulsive behavior, poor language skills, and memory problems. In addition, lead can cause liver & kidney damage, seizures, or death.
- Children poisoned by lead often do not look sick. Water poisoned with lead does not look toxic. The only sure way to know is through simple testing.
The effects of lead are permanent, but lead poisoning is preventable.
Preventable!
SafeMinds believes we can start in the place children spend 7-10 hours per day, five days a week—their school buildings. Parents, school administrators, and teachers must be assured the potable water in their schools is safe for children and staff.
Why start there? Unhealthy school buildings can adversely affect children’s health, attendance, concentration, and performance. Also, the water in a school is often more likely to be contaminated than water in a home. Schools close for long periods, leaving water sitting in the pipes. Stagnant water creates conditions that intensify the lead problem.
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lowered the blood lead reference level for children, aligning their standard with the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
SafeMinds understands prevention is key. School districts, on a national level, must be required to test potable water for lead in their buildings. It’s necessary, easy, and can be expected to increase attendance, concentration, and academic performance.
Simple testing helps keep kids out of special education.
What You Can Do—Make a Difference!
Do you know if your state requires testing of lead in school drinking water? If it doesn’t, ask your representative if your state has legislation requiring testing of lead in school drinking water.
If not, write a bill. Seriously. You can do it with the sample below. Then take your bill to your local representative to ask he/she to sponsor it. It’s that easy.
Here’s the simple sample bill:
Requires school districts to test potable water for lead in schools:
- Each local school board shall test potable water from sources identified by the EPA as high priority, giving priority to buildings built before 1986,
- Results shall be posted on the local school board’s website, and transmitted to and archived by the state department of health’s office of drinking water,
- If the results indicate a level at or above 5 parts per billion, the school board shall implement and post on its website, and
- Develop a plan to remediate the potable water to below 5 parts per billion, and confirm by retesting at two consecutive six-month intervals, which is consistent with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2017 action level for lead in a young child’s blood, and consistent with overwhelming science showing harm.
Protecting our children is everyone’s job. Join us in being a part of the solution.
