Failing Our Children: Lead in U.S. School Drinking Water

Abstract

Lead is the most prevalent toxicant in U. S. school drinking water. Yet for the vast majority of schools, federal regulation for testing taps and remediating contamination is voluntary. Using school case studies, this article discusses the regulatory vacuum that leaves children unprotected from potential exposure to very high lead doses through consumption of school water. Controlling lead hazards from water fountains, coolers, and other drinking water outlets in schools requires improved sampling protocols that can capture the inherent variability of lead release from plumbing and measure both the particulate and dissolved lead present in water. There is a need to reevaluate the potential public health implications of lead-contaminated drinking water in schools. Accounting for this misunderstood and largely overlooked exposure source is necessary in order to better understand and address childhood lead poisoning in the U. S.

Trace Element Analysis, Model-Based Clustering and Flushing to Prevent Drinking Water Contamination in Public Schools

“…In recent years, there have been calls for changes in legislation regarding the mandatory testing of drinking water for copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in schools in the United States. [1][2][3] Within the state of North Carolina, the State House Legislature introduced legislation in 2016 4 requiring drinking water testing and monitoring for Pb at elementary schools and day care facilities built before 1987. Current United States legislation only requires mandatory testing in public schools that are also regulated as a public water supplier.…”

“…However, approximately 89-92% of all schools in the country fall outside of this category, and testing is only done on a volunteer basis. 2 Monitoring of drinking water for Cu and Pb falls under the mandates established by the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) and its revisions. 1 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set forth plans to revise the LCR and address concerns and weaknesses within the legislation such as the fact that there are no enforceable health-based standards.…”

“…11 However, the amount of Pb (as well as Cu and other elements) found in an individual tap varies over time due to several parameters such as variation in the constitution of plumbing materials, plumbing age, water quality, sampling procedure (e.g., water stagnation time, and flow rate during sampling), water use, and temperature. 12,13 Studies involving elemental analysis of school drinking water have been carried out in the United States, 2,14,15 Canada 16,17 and Saudi Arabia, 18 however, most of them focused on just Cu and Pb, or Pb alone. In one of these studies, concentrations of Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn in school water coolers in Saudi Arabia were found to exceed the guideline values set by the European Economic Community.…”

“…18 Spikes in drinking water concentration of Pb as high as 1,520, 1,600, and 13,000 µg L -1 were found in Washington D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), Seattle Public Schools (SPS), and schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), respectively. 2,14,15 Results from these studies caused public alarm and negative media coverage leading to water remediation strategies such as implementing water filters, supplying consumers with bottled water, and removing Pb in plumbing to reduce potential accumulation of this metal in school children. 2,15 In the present work, tap water samples were collected from all 76 schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS) district (North Carolina, United States), which serves approximately 54,385 students.…”

“…2,14,15 Results from these studies caused public alarm and negative media coverage leading to water remediation strategies such as implementing water filters, supplying consumers with bottled water, and removing Pb in plumbing to reduce potential accumulation of this metal in school children. 2,15 In the present work, tap water samples were collected from all 76 schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS) district (North Carolina, United States), which serves approximately 54,385 students. Samples were taken from cafeteria sinks and water fountains, as they may be some of the most used sources of drinking water in a given school.…”