Elevated Lead Levels at Thousands of Schools Prompts Bill to Change Standard

Children go to school to learn – not to face brain-harming levels of lead exposure.

State lawmakers are working this year to expand upon legislation passed two years ago that shined a light on elevated lead levels in the drinking water at thousands of Maryland schools.

Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery) and Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City) are sponsoring a bill that would lower the acceptable level of lead in Maryland school water fixtures and create a state grant program to fund remediation efforts.

“Our children spend the better part of their day in schools and we need to know their water is safe. Kids’ are particularly susceptible to lead and any exposure can have a debilitating effect on the way they learn, grow and behave,” Solomon said.

House Bill 1253 lowers the actionable amount of lead levels in school drinking water from 20 parts per billion to no more than 5 parts per billion, the Food and Drug Administration limit for lead in bottled water.

You may read the full story in Maryland Matters