Editor’s note: This commentary is by Jen Duggan, who is vice president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation in Vermont.
[A]s the mom of two small children, I worry … a lot. But there is one thing I shouldn’t have to worry about: school drinking water making my children sick. Unfortunately, lead is often lurking in the fountains and faucets our kids drink from every day in schools across Vermont. We must all do our part to get the lead out and make sure our children, teachers, and school workers have safe drinking water.
There is widespread consensus among the medical community and public health experts that there is no safe level of lead. Lead is a potent neurotoxin, and exposure to even very low levels can result in lifelong, irreversible consequences. Children are especially susceptible to lead poisoning, and lead exposure can cause attention disorders, loss of IQ, delayed learning, and behavioral, kidney and hearing problems.
Due to a gap in our safe drinking water laws, most schools are not required to test for lead. But a recent pilot program revealed that every single one of the 16 schools tested had at least one drinking or cooking tap with lead concentrations above the Vermont health advisory of 1 part per billion (ppb). Five of these schools had levels 15 times the health advisory. This is just the tip of the iceberg: many more of our schools are located in buildings that are older and more likely to have water fountains, fixtures or other plumbing that contain lead. We can no longer ignore the fact that our schools — the very places where our children gather to grow and learn — may be making kids sick.
Gov. Phil Scott recently proposed an important first step in solving the problem: mandatory, state-funded testing for all schools within the next year. The governor must follow through on this promise, and lawmakers must put strong laws on the books that require annual testing in all of our schools, shutting of taps where lead exceeds 1 ppb, and sharing all results with parents.
We can’t stop there because relying on testing alone is not enough. Lead contamination is caused by corrosion, which means results at the same tap can vary significantly over time and testing may not tell us the full extent of lead exposure. In order to permanently solve this problem, schools must install appropriate filters and replace pipes, fountains and fixtures that contain lead. According to the results of the pilot program, these fixes are inexpensive and far less costly than the public health impacts and lifelong damage associated with lead exposure. As soon as possible, lead service lines that connect schools to the water main in the street should be replaced as well.
Parents also have an important role to play in advocating for their children’s health. Ask your superintendent to see lead testing results for your school and, if the water has not been tested, request that it be done immediately. Where levels exceed 1 ppb from a drinking or cooking tap, demand that your school take action to eliminate lead exposure and work with your school to put in place a plan to remove lead pipes and fountains and fixtures that contain lead.
Our kids shouldn’t have to play a dangerous game of chance every time they drink from a fountain in their school. Where there is lead, there is a risk of lead poisoning. We have taken the safety of school drinking water for granted for far too long while our children have suffered the consequences. We now have an opportunity to work together with our elected officials and school leaders to right this wrong and make sure every child has safe drinking water at school. No more excuses. Let’s get to work.
