District 303 is Testing for Lead in Water at All of Its Schools

St. Charles School District 303 officials have hired consultants to conduct lead testing at all of its 19 school with plans to have results and any possible issues fixed before schools open for the 2016-17 school year, the Daily Herald reports.

School officials decided to head off any potential concerns from parents regarding lead exposure in the schools by paying $33,000 to Chicago-based Weaver Consultants Group North Central, LLC, to conduct the testing. This past year, Chicago Public Schools underwent similar testing, following the Flint, Mich., lead crisis and found high lead levels in 100 of its schools, according to the article.

“We’re testing all places where potable water is available in a building where kids could drink it,” Superintendent Don Scholomann told the Daily Herald.

Lead exposure can affect almost every organ and system in your body and no safe blood lead level in children has been determined, according to the EPA. The most sensitive is the central nervous system and the brain, particularly in children. Lead also damages kidneys and the reproductive system and the effects are the same whether lead is breathed or swallowed.

Low levels of lead in blood have been associated with:

• Reduced IQ and attention span
• Learning disabilities
• Poor classroom performance
• Hyperactivity
• Behavioral problems
• Impaired growth
• Hearing loss

More via the EPA and the Daily Herald