The Biden-Harris Administration said Thursday that $26 million would be given out as funds to help protect American children from lead in drinking water at schools and childcare centers.
Georgia will get $1,152,000 from the money to help pay for lead testing in child care and programs that help people cut down on their use of lead.
As a response to the grant news, advocates in Georgia are asking the Biden Administration to make rules stricter for lead and copper so that children are not exposed to these metals.
“Testing has been the main way to deal with lead in water for far too long.” And a lot of pollution has been found. But the amount of lead in water changes so much that even taps that don’t show any lead can be “highly hazardous,” said Jennette Gayer, head of the Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center.
Also, she told the people in charge in Georgia to use the resources while they were still available.
“The EPA is giving us important tools to help make sure that our children can drink safe water wherever they go every day to learn and play.” Gayer said, “It is very important that Georgia officials use that money to do things that will get rid of the lead, like putting in filters and replacing old fountains with new water stations at schools.”
The loans are from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are meant to help 55 states, territories, and the District of Columbia get some of the money they need to make places where kids play and go to school less dangerous for lead.
Officials say the funds are part of a plan to move the goals of the administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan forward.
He said, “The science is clear: There is no safe level of exposure to lead.” Bruno Pigott is the acting assistant administrator for water at the EPA. For the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America plan, this $26 million will help keep our kids safe from the dangers of lead. In addition, the EPA is spending $15 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to get rid of lead pipes and help towns plan and carry out projects to replace lead pipes.
The EPA says that children are very likely to be exposed to lead. It can affect a child’s mental and physical growth, slow down their learning, and damage their brains in a way that can’t be fixed.
Adults who are exposed can get high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, and even cancer.
Officials say that the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act made the money available today. It is given as funds to states, the District of Columbia, and participating territories to test for and fix lead problems in schools and childcare centers. “Since 2019, the Voluntary School and Childcare Lead Testing and Reduction Grant has given more than $150 million to schools and childcare centers across the U.S. to test for and get rid of lead sources in drinking water.”
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