Russ Zimmer

@RussZimmer

New Jersey is slow to respond to lead contamination in schools, earning it a C- grade in a new report by the Environment New Jersey Research & Policy Center.

More than 800 school districts in New Jersey are required to test for lead in their drinking fountains, cafeteria faucets and elsewhere as part of a review of aging water infrastructure, a longstanding crisis that was pushed into the public eye by the Flint, Michigan, water crisis.

The state Department of Education announced earlier this year that at least 21 of those 800 had "failed." The effects of even low level lead poisoning, which can hinder the development of a growing child's body and mind, are irreversible.

"Get the Lead Out: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water for Our Children at School" argues that federal regulations only apply to 1 in 10 schools — those that provide their own water, rather than connect to, for example, a municipal supply — and require action only after lead levels exceed 15 parts per billion, rather than when lead is first detected at any level.

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“Testing for lead in our school’s drinking water should be the first step. But we need to look beyond testing and tackle remediation. We need to actually fix the source of lead in our schools and our homes by removing lead from our environment. We need to test for and remediate lead. We shouldn’t be playing lead roulette with the developing brains of our children in any city or town,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, in a statement released ahead of a news conference in Trenton this morning.

Lead contamination of water rarely happens at the source. Most commonly, lead is absorbed into water as it winds its way through an older home. Watch the video above to see how treatment plants try to counteract this.

The report compared state policies for reacting to or preventing lead in school water in 16 states, including New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

While the Garden State's drinking water efforts earned it a C- — not exactly gold sticker material — that was good enough for third place. D.C. was the only state or district to receive a 'B'. Most states failed the group's criteria.

While New Jersey, like all states, defers to federal guidelines on what level of lead should prompt action, the state was higher on the curve because it at least requires water testing at all school facilities. The New Jersey State Board of Education was spurred in this direction last summer by recurring incidents — across the state — of high-lead results in school buildings.

Here's a handful of examples:

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The aging housing stock and infrastructure all across New Jersey makes no area of the state immune from the risks of lead-soldered plumbing.

Four out of five public water systems in New Jersey reported some level of lead in the drinking water delivered to homes, businesses and schools from 2013 through 2015, an Asbury Park Press investigation revealed last year. Check out the video below for tips to keep your family safe.

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Americans have been on edge about the safety of the water they drink, cook with and bathe since lead contamination spiked in Flint, Michigan, after the city switched water supplies in 2014. Testing revealed that the lead levels of water coming out of taps in Flint homes and schools had skyrocketed into dangerous territory.

The USA Today Network, including the Asbury Park Press, examined lead-related violations of the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Act nationwide. See how your public water system scored below.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com