LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A recent report card for Michigan schools fails when it comes to protecting kids from lead contamination. A recent report from Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund published in February came to the conclusion that Michigan failed miserably in protecting their school children from lead contamination.

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The study gave Michigan 20 points out of 200, a failing grade, and said, “Nearly a decade after the advent of the Flint water crisis, Michigan still has no law or regulation to stop lead contamination of schools’ drinking water. The state has set a 20-year deadline for replacement of all lead service lines, for which we assigned 20 out of 30 bonus points.”

26 other states in the country also received an “F” grade.

The Detroit Metro Times (DMT) reports that about 1,500 kids under age six in Detroit test positive for elevated levels of lead every year. Of those children, about 7% of them are diagnosed with lead poisoning. That number is almost three times the state average.

They also report, “Last year, the Michigan Senate passed two bills with bipartisan support that would have required schools and childcare centers to filter drinking water for contaminants like lead. The legislation, dubbed “Filter First” would also have ordered schools and childcare centers to develop a drinking water safety plan, install filtered bottle-filling stations and faucets, and post signs near a water outlet indicating whether water is safe for human consumption.”

However, the legislation stalled in the state House and did not pass. It’s unknown if the legislators will re-introduce the legislation in 2023.

Recommended to the schools who aren’t doing well protecting their students from contaminated water are ideas like encouraging them to stop using old plumbing and fixtures that leach lead into water, replacing lines and replacing fountains with water stations with filters.

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The issue of lead in water is important because there is no “safe” level of lead according to the CDC and even a small amount can cause irreversible damage. The DMT reports “Lead is highly toxic to the brain, nervous system, and other organs, especially in infants and young children. Even at low levels, lead is linked to reduced IQ, ADHD, irreversible brain damage, classroom problems, and even criminality and poverty. Lead can also cause headaches, hearing loss, and hyperactive behavior.”

Schools aren’t the only ones not paying attention to or taking steps to identify and fix problems with lead contamination though. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in October of 2020 that an estimated 43% of Head Start centers, which have federal programs and services for approximately 900K infants and preschool children from low income homes, have not been tested for lead in their drinking water from late-2018 through the end of 2019. 31% of the centers didn’t know if they had ever tested at all.