HARRISBURG- Three state senators recently proposed a bill that would replace old drinking fountains to eliminate lead-tainted drinking water in schools.
The proposed legislation is being sponsored by Sen. Devlin J. Robinson, Sen. John I. Kane, and Sen. Art Haywood.
According to the proposed bill, it seeks to expand upon Act 39 of 2018, which encouraged schools to test for lead in their drinking water, and then provide a report to the Department of Education if the findings were harmful.
“Lead at any level is unsafe for children. Yet, lead poisoning has occurred too often in our Commonwealth, and it is especially harmful to children. There have been well-documented adverse effects on those under age 18 such as brain and nervous system damage, physical growth delays, learning and behavior problems, and speech and hearing impairment. These factors can lead to lower IQ and even a higher risk of criminal behavior.
These grave problems are entirely preventable, and we are seeking to expand upon the positive start established in Act 39 of 2018 which encouraged schools to test for lead, and provide a report to Department of Education if findings were dangerous.
In our legislation, we want to make Pennsylvania a national leader in the fight against lead in school drinking water. To do that, we are going to propose legislation that requires old drinking fountains get replaced with lead-filtering water stations by 2025 and to put forth funding to help school districts achieve this very important–and attainable–goal. We are working closely with stakeholders to explore how we can most effectively and responsibly implement this necessity to provide clean, safe water for our students in rural, suburban, and urban schools across Pennsylvania.”
