Don’t children deserve healthy schools?
Don’t children deserve healthy schools?
In New Hampshire, the momentum is growing to protect children from lead poisoning.
Our state has already taken big steps to protect children’s health from lead. Last summer, we won universal lead testing for all children that requires schools to test sinks and water fountains for lead more regularly.
But, under the law, schools are only required to install new plumbing if lead is found to be above 15 parts per billion (ppb)—which is 15 times higher than recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
New Hampshire must require schools and childcare centers to replace lead whenever children are at risk.
When kids drink lead-contaminated water, they are exposed to toxics that could harm them for the rest of their lives. Lead is a neurotoxin and can cause irreversible cognitive and behavioral problems in children, even in very small amounts. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead poisoning—so we need strong laws on the books to make sure our schools and childcare centers clean it up at the level recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics: 1 ppb.
Children deserve to learn in a safe and healthy environment. But it’s up to us to make sure that happens. Thanks for taking action.
