Lead contamination in American drinking water has poisoned thousands of children, according to a recent study.
(Photo source: Pear Video)
The water fountain at the elementary school has been shut down because of lead contamination, said the Boston mother of two daughters aged around five.
The situation began three years ago when she received a notice from the school administration that the school had been found to have 100 times the permissible lead level.
The "toxic water" that is being turned off here refers to lead in fixtures, faucets and other parts that gets into tap water through corroded pipes and contaminates the water.
(Photo source: Pear Video)
Tap water with excessive lead content is extremely harmful to the human body. The most important thing is that lead poisoning can cause endocrine disorders and severe developmental delay, affecting intellectual development.
90% of lead is in the skeletal system, the rest is in the blood. The toxicity is lasting, the half-life is up to 10 years, and it is not easy to be excreted by the human body.
Moreover, there is no lower limit for lead pollution, and any level of lead pollution will have adverse effects on human health.
Even if the lead-contaminated environment is removed and the lead-removal treatment is carried out, the blood lead level will drop, and the development of the damaged nerve cells cannot be restored to the original normal level.
A survey of drinking water in schools in 31 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. found that regulations in most states fail to protect children from lead contamination of school drinking water.
John Rosser, one of the report's authors, said 22 states still haven't addressed the problem of excess lead in school drinking water.
(Photo source: environmenttexascenter)
One school in Ohio contained 100 times more lead than the EPA allowed, one in Illinois 212 times and one in Massachusetts nearly 1,500 times, the report said.
While several of these schools have already replaced their drinking water facilities, the investigation team has launched a "Get the Lead Out" campaign to urge all schools to replace fixtures or at least install filters on water fountains.
(Photo source: Pear Video)
Some schools say funding is insufficient, and not all communities can handle the problem on their own.
Investigators say the federal government will spend more money on stricter lead standards.
From the North American International Student Daily