From Public Citizens for Children and Youth (http://www.pccy.org):
Early this week, lead levels in three Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania schools were found to contain three times the federal standard of acceptable lead. In response to the reports by WFMZ-TV, the Allentown and Bethlehem school districts shut off the fountains. But the news prompted parents in Pennsylvania to wonder how concerned they should be about the safety of drinking water.
Subsequent tests made by the school districts found levels to be safe and each district rescinded the restriction orders. But the reporters stood by their findings and other experts explain “lead leaches sporadically” and test results can vary by the hour.
Earlier this month the Newark (New Jersey) school district shut off the fountains at 30 of its schools due to high lead levels. New Jersey lawmakers also took action this week to protect children. The Garden State Democratic senators proposed a bill requiring all schools in the state to test drinking water for lead contamination, along with $3 million to cover testing costs and $20 million to help cover the costs to remove lead pipes where high lead levels are found.
Closer to home, children in the Philadelphia School District attend school in buildings with no working water fountains. In some cases the fountains were shut off because lead or other containments were found in the water supply years ago. Water fountains were shut off in at least 25% of 83 Philadelphia elementary schools surveyed by PCCY in 2005. Although another survey has not been completed since then, we have heard that many of our schools prohibit any drinking from water fountains or sinks because of the presence of lead.
Although water has the potential to increase lead levels among children, lead paint continues to be largest threat to children in our region. Regardless of the source, we know that far too few children in our region are being tested for lead poisoning. [*See chart above.] Last year, no county in our region tested more than 27% of its children despite the fact that well over 50% of homes across the region were built before 1980, which means they are likely to have remnants of lead paint.
The fear of parents is well-founded and part of the solution is for wider testing. Local governments and schools however, do not have the funds to meet the remediation needs already known. That’s why we need you to sign the petitions to the state and federal governments to put the resources on the table to get the lead out of our schools and homes.
Petition to increase funding for PA Healthy Homes at http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51084/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18493!
Petition your Congress members at http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51084/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18494!
*Source: 2014 Childhood Lead Surveillance Annual Report, PA Department of Health
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