Schools and Day Care Centers

Exposure to lead is a significant health concern, especially for young children and infants whose growing bodies tend to absorb more lead than the average adult. Drinking water is one possible source of lead exposure. (For more on sources, click here. Infants whose diets consist mainly of liquid can get 40 - 60% of their lead exposure from water. Some drinking water pipes, taps, solder and other plumbing components contain lead. Lead in the plumbing may leach into water and pose a health risk when consumed.

Testing water in schools and day care facilities is important because children spend a significant portion of their days in these facilities, and likely consume water while there. The longer water remains in contact with leaded plumbing, the more opportunity exists for lead to leach into water. As a result, facilities with on again/off again water use patterns, such as schools and day care facilities, may have elevated lead concentrations in the water.

EPA recommends that action be taken at a specific outlet when the lead concentration is over 20 parts per billion (ppb). (Note: this is different from the 15 ppb action level required for public water systems. For an explanation, see an Excerpt from the Preamble to the Lead and Copper Final Rule.

Lead comes from the plumbing.
Even though water delivered from the community's public water supply must meet EPA standards for lead , a building may still have too much lead in the drinking water because of lead and lead-containing plumbing materials and water use patterns. Testing the water at each outlet is the only sure way to find out if the water contains too much lead (over 20 ppb).

Testing for lead at a school or day care.

EPA strongly encourages schools and day care facilities to test the water for lead, particularly if food, drinks, and/or formula are prepared on-site.

Each outlet should be tested separately for lead. For more on testing, including guidance for developing a sampling program and information on remedies, click here .
Lead in drinking water is not a problem for only old or only new buildings. Lead solder with more than 0.2% lead and plumbing with more than 8% lead were banned in 1987. (Click here to go to EPA's Lead Ban pamphlet. Buildings did not have to be built with certified "lead-free" fixtures until 1997. See (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standard/plumbing.html and even new, certified components can leach some lead. See http://www.nsf.org/business/water_distribution/dwa_usepa.asp

In Philadelphia, a review of test results from almost 300 school locations indicated that there was no correlation between age of building and number of outlets with elevated lead concentrations. (See Graph and Explanatory Text) ( 8 K PDF FILE) The age of the building is not necessarily the age of the plumbing, when repairs and renovations are considered. Many factors that contribute to lead concentrations in water, including water characteristics and plumbing components. In some cases, older buildings, despite having leaded plumbing components, do not leach significant amounts of lead into the water.

What do I do when I find lead in the water?

Fact Sheet: Is there Lead in the Drinking Water? You can reduce the risk of lead exposure from drinking water in educational facilities ( 749 K PDF FILE) EPA 903-F-01-002, April 2002