Lead contaminates the water coming out of drinking fountains and taps at schools across the country, and at least 22 states aren’t doing enough about it.
“Get the Lead Out,” a study published March 21 by Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund, examined the policies of 31 states and Washington, D.C., and assigned grades based on how well they protect children from lead in drinking water at school. Twenty-two states earned an F grade, with only Illinois and D.C. grading above the C range.
“Waiting for more tests to confirm that our children are drinking water laced with lead is unconscionable,” said Emma Dietz, clean water associate with our national network. “It’s time to get the lead out.”
Our national network is working in more than a dozen states to protect drinking water for millions of children by advancing policies to proactively get the lead out.
Photo: John Rumpler, senior director of our national network’s Clean Water campaign, spoke to CBS This Morning about the “Get the Lead Out” report and states’ failure to protect school drinking water from lead contamination. Credit: CBS This Morning