American Academy of Pediatrics Releases Policy Statement on the Prevention of Childhood Lead Toxicit

In a new policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that "State and local governments should take steps to ensure that water fountains in schools do not exceed water lead concentrations of 1 ppb.” They further state that “drinking fountains in older schools can be an important source of lead exposure. Unfortunately, there are no regulations for evaluating lead contamination of school drinking fountains in most states.” In line with this recommendation, the District of Columbia has adopted a 1 ppb action level for lead in water in schools and in parks. The Washington, D.C. mayor’s announcement on the policy is available here.