Garden State Labs Schools Safe Drinking Water Lead Page

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Lead in Drinking Water

Schools and Child Care Facilities

USEPA and US Department of Education Sign MOU to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities

Garden State Laboratories is Ready to Help!

In June of 2005 the USEPA, US Department of Education, Centers for Disease Control and several water supply organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to encourage schools and child-care facilities to reduce lead in drinking water. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has also joined in this effort.

Lead is a significant health concern. High levels can impair mental development. Although lead is rarely present in the water that leaves a treatment plant, it can leach into drinking water from lead plumbing, solder and fixtures. Therefore, testing at the cold water taps in schools or child-care facilities is the best way to determine if your facility has elevated lead levels.

If you are a public water system you may already be doing testing under the current Lead and Copper Rule. That rule only gives you a "snapshot" of what is happening in your facility. Additional testing will give you a more complete picture of the lead in the water being consumed by your students.

This MOU encourages testing under the Lead Contamination and Control Act of 1988 at each cold water tap, possibly used for drinking in a facility, by a certified testing laboratory. The sampling and testing protocols are different than that of the Lead and Copper Rule. For example, instead of a one liter sample required under the Lead and Copper Rule, schools and child care facilities should take a 250 ml first flush sample. The action level is set at 20 parts per billion instead of 15 ppb (0.020 mg/l instead of 0.015 mg/l). First flush samples should be taken after the water has not been used for at least 6 hours, overnight (8-18 hours) is recommended. Do not take samples on Monday mornings or holidays. While not yet required, the USEPA and the NJDEP are strongly recommending that you perform these lead tests.

Now is the time to begin this testing program. The summer is a great time to utilize your staff to work with us in getting the taps sampled and we at Garden State Laboratories are ready to help you. We have been performing certified drinking water lead analysis for over 25 years.

With offices through out New Jersey, Garden State Labs can quickly supply you with sampling containers and sample pick up. Results can be emailed or faxed to you.

Here is a USEPA Brochure on Lead in Drinking Water in Educational Facilities

The USEPA has several informative web sites on Lead in Drinking Water and Schools and Child Care Facilities.

Lead in Drinking Water

Information on Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities

Information on Testing for Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities, information on where and how to test.

Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Non-Residential Buildings, This is a large document published in 1994.

Sampling for Lead in Drinking Water in Nursery Schools and Day Care Facilities. This is a large document also published in 1994.

Here is a Fact Sheet on The MOU and here is the actual MOU.

Don't hesitate e-mail or call 800-273-8901 today and let us help you with this endeavor.

CONTACTING GSL

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Garden State Laboratories, Inc.
410 Hillside Avenue
Hillside, NJ 07205

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