What we found were – we looked at roughly 77,000 water systems across the U.S. And what we found was, you know, the ones that had lead limit levels that were higher than the federal standard ranged in – they were in nearly every state, and they ranged from very small systems with 20 or 25 customers to very large systems.
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Yellow Breeches, a private school that leases space in a building formerly occupied by the public North Annville Elementary School, is among as many as 29 schools and day care centers statewide that have registered excessive levels of lead at least one time since January 1, 2013, according to an Associated Press analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data.
Representative Donald M. Payne Jr, meanwhile, is already in talks about holding a news conference along with the city’s mayor Ras Baraka and State Senator Ronald L. Rice, as they plan to call on Congress to pass a bill that would require states to receive federal funding for programs that could help schools test water for lead.
Lead contamination in the Sebring, Ohio, public water supply made national headlines earlier this year, largely because local and state water officials failed to notify the public of the threat.
“The kids are not exposed to it other than hand-washing”, said Sandra Porter, who manages the water system at Ava Head Start in West Plains, Missouri, where a 2014 test revealed lead levels more than four times the federal standard.
Tennessee’s drinking water generally has lead levels well below those that have raised concerns in Flint, Michigan. Fourteen water suppliers in Kentucky had recent readings at or above 10 parts per billion. “I use bottled water when I cook and to wash the fruits and vegetables”.
Meanwhile, records from the 2012 testing in Dover were in storage and not readily available, but Parks illustrated how results from one home in the small sampling could influence the results.
“We try to minimize it, whatever our contribution is” to childhood lead poisoning, said Joseph Bella, executive director of the Passaic Valley Water Commission in New Jersey, which has repeatedly exceeded the standard. Still, many old homes are in cities such as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, where lead can pose a risk even when elevated levels haven’t shown up in samples taken elsewhere. The agency said it is working with those systems.
“We sample for lead on a routine basis in accordance with the EPA regulatory requirements, and our systems continue to be in compliance”, she said.
In 1991, the EPA published a regulation to control lead and copper in drinking water known as the Lead and Copper Rule. Buying water filters and bottled water also are options.Q: How do I know if my house might have lead in the water?”Whatever water quality standards are not being met act as the trigger point for these funds”, Garcia said.
“Once this has been done, we can determine an appropriate course of action to address the issue”, Delgado said. Those 21 represent about 1.1 percent of the almost 1,900 water systems in the state. “They changed the water source and they did not redo the tests”. Midland high school in Varna reported samples of well water over the limit for lead in 2014.
The toxic metal can cause brain damage and other physical ailments if ingested, and experts say no amount of lead is considered safe. Furthermore, within a single school, water can test safe in one drinking fountain and not in the next.
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A system that provides drinking water for a Santa Fe hospital is among those in New Mexico where testing has turned up elevated levels of lead.
