COLUMBUS, OH – Following high lead levels found in the water of schools in Granville and Sebring, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called for passage of a bill that would help schools and daycare centers cover the cost of testing for lead in drinking water. Lead exposure can leave children with lifelong health issues, including difficulty learning or testing in school and behavioral problems like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“No parent should have to worry that the water coming out of the school drinking fountain might be poisoning their children. There is a glaring gap in our lead testing rules – right now there’s no federal requirement for schools to test their water for lead contamination,” said Brown. “Schools often don’t have the resources or expertise needed to test for lead – and we know how dangerous lead is to young children whose brains are still developing. We need to give schools the resources they need to make sure our children’s drinking water is safe from lead.”

During a press conference at the Franklin County Health Department in Columbus today, Brown joined Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Good and Franklin County Health Commissioner Susan Tilgner who outlined the need for federal funding to help schools pay for testing of lead levels in drinking water to keep Ohio children safe.

Licking County Health Commissioner Joe Ebel discussed the importance of regular testing and the lack of resources for schools – leaving children at risk of lead or other toxins in the water they drink from school fountains.

Currently, there is no federal requirement for schools to test their water for lead contamination and many schools do not have the resources to conduct this testing. Along with issues of lead in schools in Sebring and Flint, the discovery of high lead levels in Granville last month highlights the need to test schools for lead in their drinking water.


To address this need, Brown cosponsored the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Drinking Water Act of 2016, legislation that would create a new grant program to help schools conduct regular testing. The bill would address this funding shortfall by creating a new $100 million federal grant program through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help daycare centers and school districts test their drinking water for potential lead contamination. Last week, part of Brown’s bill advanced in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which authorized $20 million for testing in schools in the Water Resources Development Act – a critical water infrastructure bill that is awaiting a vote by the Senate.

That same committee also passed provisions sponsored by Brown to help communities like Flint, Michigan, and Sebring, Ohio, including a provision Brown ‎introduced earlier this year that requires the EPA to notify communities within 15 days when lead is discovered in drinking water. 

Brown has been a strong supporter of federal funding to help prevent lead poisoning, monitor lead exposure in children, and eliminate lead hazards. As part of the year-end appropriations bill passed in December, Brown supported funding for federal programs at the CDC and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program – the only federal program that provides funding for states and local health departments to conduct surveillance of where, how, and when children are exposed to lead – received $17 million. HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes received $110 million and helps protect children from health and safety hazards related to lead-based paint and other home hazards.

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