For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Newark Board of Education $7.5 million in federal funds to combat lead in Newark schools. The grant will help fund the Newark Safe Water Initiative, which helps reduce sources of lead in school drinking water.
“We have a crisis in New Jersey when it comes to lead in our drinking water and our crumbling infrastructure. This is especially true in Newark, where we’ve been dealing with lead for decades. We blew the whistle in the lead crisis in Newark schools in 2016, but their problems go back to 2005 and even before. Finally getting money is a good thing, but it is long overdue. The children of Newark have been exposed to unsafe lead for decades,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.“This money will help protect the children in Newark from lead in their schools. This is a serious health issue that must be quickly fixed. It is too important for the safety of our children.”
The EPA’s announcement comes in advance of next week’s National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. This is one of ten grants announced this week. The funding will be used to remove sources of lead in drinking water in schools, including addressing lead pipes and fixtures. It will also fund outreach and public education to raise awareness of the health effects of lead in drinking water and ways to reduce lead exposure.
“Lead should never be found in drinking water, especially in schools. In 2016, we found that school officials in Newark knew about the problem of lead in their drinking water since August of 2014. Testing found elevated levels of lead at 30 different schools. In some places they found lead levels ten times what it should be. Lead is one of the most hazardous substances known to man and has significant impacts to our children,” said Tittel. “This money is a step in the right direction, but we need to do much more. This is a systemic issue that needs to be dealt with. We need to do a better job of testing throughout the state and fixing these problems. We can’t allow our children to be put at risk.
In March 2016, a memo obtained by the New Jersey Sierra Club showed that school officials in Newark knew about the problem of lead in their drinking water since August 2014. A memo from Keith Barton, Executive Managing Director of Operations, was sent to faculty and staff of Newark Public Schools warning them about possible contamination. The memo included instructions to run drinking fountains for at least 30 seconds before drinking from them. Custodians were told to run each fountain for two minutes prior to the schools opening each day.
“By giving money for dealing with lead in Newark schools, the EPA is taking the first steps toward making sure our children aren’t exposed to lead. This money will be used for dealing with lead lines, but will also go toward outreach and education. Many schools don’t post information about lead and whether they are testing for it. The biggest holdup of dealing with lead in schools is lack of money, so this funding will mean quicker fixes to problems,” said Jeff Tittel.“Many cities in New Jersey like Newark have old pipes. Some of this infrastructure goes back to the Victorian Age. Whether the pipes are made with lead solder or are simply allowing lead to leach in and out, they need to be replaced and upgraded to keep the lead out of our schools.”
Removing lead from our water is important because it is incredibly dangerous, especially to children. Lead can cause illness and even in small amounts can lead to learning disabilities. It can also lead to childhood development problems and other serious health issues. Thousands of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning in our state each year.
“Knowing that there is lead in schools means that we need to put programs in place to get lead out now. We need to deal with our crumbling infrastructure, from replacing water fountains to replacing lead lines. Overall it will cost $2.3 billion to get rid of lead lines and $8 billion to fix the water systems. Our lead standards need to be lowered from 15 ppb to at least 5 ppb. We need to aim for 1 ppb like California, because any lead in drinking water is unsafe. It is important for New Jersey to pass legislation and establish programs to protect our drinking water from lead,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We need action now because the more time that goes on, the longer our children in New Jersey schools are drinking dangerously contaminated water.”