|

Following eye-opening events in Flint, Michigan, Maine sets a health protective standard for lead in school drinking water

Augusta, Maine – The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted today to take a critical step towards protecting school children in Maine from toxic chemicals. The committee passed a bill to increase health protections for Maine children from lead in school drinking water.

The tragedy of Flint, Michigan increased nation attention on the presence of toxic lead entering drinking water, with schools becoming a focal point both because of exposure to young children and because older school plumbing is often contaminated with lead. 

“Lead is a potent neurotoxin, robbing children of their potential by irreversibly damaging their brain and lowering their IQ,” said Patrick MacRoy, Deputy Director at Defend Our Health. “While lead-based paint may be the most significant source of exposure for most children with very high blood lead levels, lead in drinking water is a substantial contributor of the total lead burden of the average child, with the USEPA estimating it as the source of about 20% of a person’s lead intake. The decision today was a necessary step in Maine towards tackling lead poisoning in our state.”

The victory comes from overturning a plan from the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention that would hold schools to the same outdated and troubled federal standard of 15 parts-per-billion (ppb) of lead for water utilities. The committee agreed to lower the trigger for recommended action to 4 ppb, aligning Maine with nearby Vermont and a growing list of states who have rejected the federal standard as it applies to schools. The committee also required changes to the testing protocols to ensure samples are collected in a way that represents how children may be exposed to the drinking water. The original plan had allowed for testing in a way that didn’t reflect how water was actually used and has been rejected in other states.  The committee also required more timely sharing of the results of the testing with staff and parents.

Unlike water utilities, who primarily control lead through adjustments to the water’s corrosiveness, schools have the ability to directly correct problems causing elevated lead levels. In some cases, this could involve replacing leaded fixtures, or using water filters. However, in many cases, no-cost options like simply disconnecting a fountain or ensuring chemistry lab sinks are not used for drinking, effectively prevent exposures to lead. Today, the HHS committee agreed with children’s health, environmental, and labor advocates that since there is no safe level of lead exposure and there are no-cost options available to schools, schools should follow a more stringent standard. The rules do not require schools to replace any fixtures, but rather to inform parents and staff of the results and to take elevated taps out of service, thereby avoiding unfunded mandates for local school districts. 

The amendment, championed by committee co-chair Rep. Michele Meyer, was passed on an 8-5 vote and will now go before the full House and Senate.

Background: 

In 2019, the Maine Legislature passed a bill sponsored by then Senator Rebecca Millett that required the Maine CDC to provide lead in water testing to all schools in the state, and requiring the agency to present a proposed rule on how to do this to the legislature. Today’s vote amends the Maine CDC’s proposed rules. 

Given that the 15 ppb level was never intended to be health protective, as acknowledged by the USEPA, advocates insisted Maine follow other states in setting lower levels for our schools. In 2019, the Vermont legislature set the state’s action level for school drinking water at 4 ppb and Massachusetts set a level of 1 ppb. In 2018, the District of Columbia set the level at 5ppb for triggering action in their schools. In 2017, the Illinois legislature required comprehensive school testing with “prompt” notification to parents of all levels in excess of 5 ppb.