EPA Announces Funding to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water at Schools

Exposure to lead risks developmental harms in children such as lower IQ and behavioral issues.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington on June 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is setting aside $26 million in funding for U.S. states and territories, aimed at tackling the issue of lead in drinking water offered in schools and childcare facilities, the agency said in a June 13 statement.

“Lead is a neurotoxin that can negatively impact American children,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“With $26 million in funding this year, more schools will be able to identify sources of lead in their water and take action so that our nation’s children can focus on learning, playing, and developing skills that will maximize their potential and make our nation stronger.”

According to an April 2024 post by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, protecting children from exposure to lead is critical, since even low levels of the metal in blood “have been shown to negatively affect a child’s health.”

Some of the “well-documented adverse effects” of lead exposure include damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, hearing and speech issues, and trouble with learning and behavior, the CDC said, warning that these can lead to lower IQ and underperformance in school among children.

In 2016, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act established the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water grant to award funding to states, territories, and tribes.

This program was amended to the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program after the enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. The amended grant program allows funds to be used for lead remediation, in addition to testing.

In its June 13 statement, the EPA said it has provided more than $200 million since 2018 to help cut down lead exposure in drinking water at places where children learn and play.

The grant program has had success in multiple states, according to the agency. “With the help of this grant, Texas has sampled approximately 97 percent of the approximately 1,552 school and childcare facilities they planned to test,” the EPA said.

“In Colorado, their Test and Fix Water for Kids program has protected approximately 600,000 children from lead exposure in drinking water. New Hampshire leads the country with 360 schools with replaced drinking water apparatus.”

Protecting Children

In addition to water, children may be exposed to lead from a wide range of sources such as paint in homes built before 1978; consumer products such as toys and jewelry; soil near older buildings, busy roads, and airports; and certain foods, medicines, or cosmetics bought from outside the United States, according to the CDC.

“Children younger than six years are more likely to be exposed due to their hand-to-mouth behavior. Many children ingest lead dust by putting objects such as toys and dirt in their mouths,” the agency said.

At present, no safe blood lead level in children has been identified. The CDC uses a blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter to identify children with lead levels higher than most kids.

The agency estimates roughly 500,000 children in the United States have blood lead levels at or higher than BLRV.

Meanwhile, a group of senators introduced the bipartisan Financing Lead Out of Water (FLOW) Act this month, aimed at tackling lead contamination in drinking water, according to a June 10 statement from the office of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), one of the lawmakers who introduced the bill.

At present, over nine million American homes are supplied with water through lead pipes, it said.

The Act provides a guarantee in the tax code allowing public water utilities to issue tax-exempt bonds, the proceeds of which can be used to pay for the removal and replacement of lead water pipes. Both private and publicly-owned pipes are covered under the Act.

“No parent in America should worry if the water their kids drink is safe,” Bennet said. “The FLOW Act cuts red tape and reduces the financial burdens that homeowners and families face when replacing their lead pipes.”