Third If funds are available, the Centers for
Disease Control may make grants available to
states and local governments for initiating
and expanding community programs de-
signed to;
:
Screen infants and children for elevated
blood levels.
Assure referral for treatment and environ-
mental intervention of infants and chil-
dren with elevated blood levels.
Provide education about childhood lead
poisoning.
Provide education about childhood lead
poisoning.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Publications and Documents
Lead Contamination Control Act < P.L.I
572) and supporting documents, available
through: House Document Room, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC 20515, (202)
225-3456.
Lead In School's Drinking Water (GPO-055-000-
00281-9), available for $3.25. Send check or
money order to: Superintendent of Docu-
ments, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, (202) 783-3238.
You and Your Drinking Water and Laid and
Your Drinking Water. Available from: U.S. En-
vironmental Protection Agency, Public
Information Center, 401 Street, SW, Washing-
ton, DC 20460.
these and other materials and information
about safe dnnkmg water or lead sn drinking
water you can write to:
Office of Drinking Water (WH-550) U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission,
Division of Corrective Actions, Washington,
DC 20207.
Centers for Disease Control, Center for Envi-
ronmental Health and Injury Control, Division
of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects,
Atlanta, GA 30333.
State and Local Information Requests
Information about state and local lead-in-
drinking-water programs may be available
from designated "lead contacts" at state Health
or Environmental agencies. Departments of
Education, or Water Supply Agencies. Local
information may be available from county/city
Boards of Education, Environmental Agencies
and Health Departments. Local lead-screening
programs and family doctors or pediatricians
can also be information sources.
Hotline
EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline:
(800) 426-4791 or (202) 382-5533
Jnited
Environmental Protection
Agency
July 191
Office of Water
;oEPA Lead
Contamination
Control Act
(LCCA)
<_ - -
r- rr
,f Printed on Recycled Pjpt-
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The New Law
The Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA)
of 1988 requires:
The identification of water coolers that are
not lead-free.
The repair or removal of water coolers
with lead-lined tanks.
A ban on the manufacture and sale of
water coolers that are not lead free.
» The identification and resolution of lead
problems in schools' drinking water.
The authorization of additional funds for
lead screening programs for children.
The Act was signed by President Reagan on
October 31, 1988.
Who Is Affected
:
'
The law's programs and provisions will affect:
Secondary and primary schools, kinder-
gartens and day care centers.
Water cooler manufacturers and distribu-
tors.
Federal, state, and local agencies.
Why It Was Enacted
Most people understand that the consumption
of lead can be very dangerous and that expo-
sure to lead can cause a number of harmful
health effects. These include serious damage to
the brain and central nervous system, kidneys,
and liver. Lead is present in many places in
air, food, dust, dirt, and in drinking water.
Harmful levels of lead can enter our bodies
from any of these sources.
Children are particularly sensitive to lead
contamination. Their bodies are developing
and, as a result, they absorb and retain more
lead than adults. Even at very low levels of
lead exposure, children can experience re-
duced I.Q. levels, impaired learning and
language skills, loss of hearing, and reduced
attention spans and poor classroom perform-
ance. At higher levels, lead can damage their
brains and central nervous systems, interfering
with both learning and physical growth.
Women are also at risk. In women, lead can
cause fertility problems and miscarriages. In
pregnant women, lead can cause impaired
development of the fetus, premature births,
and reduced birth weights.
Men are at risk of increased blood pressure
from exposure to lead.
The lead problem must be solved and the
threat it imposes must be eliminated. One
way to begin is to remedy one of the most
common, yet controllable sources of lead
contamination that found in drinking water
due to the corrosion of interior plumbing (in-
cluding water coolers) especially in schools
and dav care centers.
Federal Guidance
The Lead Contamination Control Act directs
EPA to publish guidance to assist schools,
local education agencies, and day care centers
in discovering the levels of contamination in
drinking-water coolers and taking actions to
reduce contamination. The first, most impor-
tant step is to identity such sources ot lead
contamination in drinking water as water
coolers, interior plumbing, bathroom faucets,
and kitchen facilities. If the specific source is
determined, then the problem can be solved.
To help do this, EPA published a guidance
document entitled, Lead in School Drinking
Water. The guidance explains the problem of
lead contamination and the harmful effects
related to the consumption of lead in drinking
water. It also explains how to identify possible
sources of lead and how to conduct a thor-
ough, step-by-step sampling protocol in a
school (or other public building).
Schools and people responsible for other
buildings should obtain the guidance docu-
ment and begin the process of identification,
sampling and remediation. Lead in School
Drinking Water has been distributed to all the
states and is also available to the general
public through the U.S. Government Printing
Office (see below for details).
Water Coolers
Other sections of the Act focus on the identifi-
cation of water coolers that may contribute
lead to dnnking water. As required by the
law, EPA has published a list, identifying the
brands and models of water coolers that are
not lead free. The list appeared in the Federal
Register on Apnl 10,1989 (54 FR 14320). This
list may help schools and other building
owners identify a priority list of outlets for
testing, but it does not account for all possible
sources of lead in schools' drinking water.
EPA encourages owners of drinking water
coolers to sample the water they produce if
they believe there may be a lead problem.
The LCCA directs the Consumer Products
Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue an order
requiring manufacturers and importers ot
coolers with lead-lined tanks to either repair
the coolers, replace the coolers, or recall the
coolers and provide a refund to the owners.
The law also prohibits the future manufacture
and sale in interstate commerce of any water
cooler that is not lead-free.
State Agencies
^^^^^^^H^^V^^^^M^V^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H
The LCCA also indicates three areas involving
state agencies:
First To complement the EPA guidance
document and testing protocol, states are
supposed to provide a list of qualified
laboratories so that school authorities and the
general public can test their tap water for lead.
These should be laboratories that are certified
by the States only after proven to provide
reliable and accurate testing services.
Second States may use the guidance
documents to assist local school systems and
education agencies. Although EPA does not
require testing, local education agencies are
encouraged to:
Identify water coolers that are not lead-
free.
Test school water outlets (including water
coolers) for lead.
Identify and remedy other sources of lead
contamination in the school (e.g. interior
plumbing, bathnxnn faucets, and kitchen
facilities).
Repair water coolers by taking actions to
ensure that they are lead-free; perma-
nently remove and replace them with
coolers that are lead-free; or render the
coolers inoperable, unless they are tested
and found (within the limits of testing
accuracy) not to contribute lead to drink-
ing water.
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