EPA Grants Target Lead Exposure Risks from Drinking Water at Schools, Childcare Facilities Nationwide

Schools and childcare facilities across the U.S. could benefit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarding $26 million in federal grants, designed to help reduce the risks associated with exposure to toxic lead in drinking water.

Despite substantial efforts in recent years to reduce the risk of children being exposed to lead, which can severely impact their ability to learn and develop, there are continuing concerns about drinking water lead contamination in schools with older pipes and infrastructures throughout the U.S.

The new funding comes from a grant program announced by the EPA on August 22, which is part of the Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan established by the Biden-Harris Administration. The grants are being made available through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which authorizes funding for lead testing and lead removal methods in schools and childcare facilities across U.S. states and territories.

Lead Exposure Health Risks

Although the long-term effects of lead contaminated water on children are well known, more than 9 million homes in the United States still get drinking water from pipes tainted by toxic lead, according to a report released by the EPA in 2023.

In addition, a number of major U.S. cities continue to expose residents to a risk of contaminated drinking water from lead pipes, due to aging water supply lines that some have described as a national health crisis.

The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that there is no safe level of lead exposure for children, since lead poisoning can cause permanent brain damage, seizures, mental retardation, coma, nervous system injury and even death.

Researchers have found that even drinking water with low lead levels poses a serious health risk for children and adults, potentially impairing kidney function even at legally allowable levels of lead. In adults, it can also increase blood pressure, heart disease and increase the risk of cancer.

Lead in Drinking Water Pipes

The new federal grant is a part of the larger Biden-Harris Administration Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan, which is intended to help mitigate the problem of lead exposure among the nation’s children.

Part of the program calls for the replacement of the nation’s lead water pipes within 10 years, and to improve water sampling across the country.

The need for pipes to be replaced was highlighted by the lead drinking water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan several years ago. After local officials decided to switch the town from the Detroit Water System to water from the Flint river to save money, residents were exposed to high levels of lead in their drinking water, which was distributed through corroded pipes.

The Voluntary School and Childcare Lead Testing and Reduction Grant provides over $150 million in federal funding for lead testing and removal in sources in schools across the country.

The new grant is a part of that program and calls for recipients to use the 3Ts Program of Training, Testing and Taking Action. The 3Ts program focuses on ways to reduce lead contamination in sources accessible to school-age children.

For recipients to benefit from the federal funds, they must commit to active testing for potentially contaminated water in schools, training to help remove the sources of the contamination, educating participants in ways to become proactive in at-risk communities, taking immediate action to remove lead sources, and identifying children who may be affected by lead poisoning.

The program calls on grant recipients to make the aspects of the program routine practice to ensure all children across the U.S. have safe access to drinking water.