REPUBLICAN GOVERNANCE:

Almost all Vermont schools and child care programs have addressed lead in their drinking water systems thanks to a state program created and funded by a 2019 law, state officials announced this week. As a result, students' exposure to lead has plummeted. [...]

There is no safe level for lead in the body, according to the report. Exposure is particularly harmful for children, and it can slow or impair growth and cause learning and behavioral problems.

"Each year hundreds of Vermont kids are poisoned by lead," Mark Levine, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, said in a statement. "This program shows how we can work together as a state to reduce lead exposure and keep our children healthier. Parents and caregivers can take comfort in knowing that the water their kids are consuming at their school and child care is now safer."

From June 2019 through December 2021, schools and state officials tested more than 15,000 taps, according to the report. Of those, one out of five had levels above the state's standard.

Seventy-five percent of schools and 14% of non-school based child care facilities found lead in at least one tap, and 21% of all taps needed to be replaced, according to the report. The highest concentration of lead identified was 25,000 parts per billion.

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