Source: WRAL
North Carolina will receive over half a million dollars to test lead in drinking waters at schools and child care centers.
The Environmental Protection Agency, alongside the Biden Administration, announced they will be distributing funding to 55 states and territories and the District of Columbia. North Carolina will receive $619,000 of the $26 million in funding allotted to this effort. The program requires states and territories to use the 3T’s- training, testing, and taking action, to reduce the lead levels in drinking water at schools and day care centers. The 3T’s program provides valuable resources and tools for lead reduction efforts.
There is no safe level of lead to consume, and the results can range from increased blood pressure to damage to reproductive health and cancer. The effects are even more dire for children. “In children, lead can severely harm mental and physical development, slowing down learning, and irreversibly damaging the brain.” the EPA said in a news release on Biden’s recent efforts.
Removing lead from drinking water has been an ongoing effort with the Biden administration. In May, the administration put forward $3 billion to replace lead pipes across the country to deliver clean drinking water to communities. North Carolina received $250 million in funding, which President Joe Biden announced at an event in Wilmington NC. “There’s no safe level of lead exposure, none,” President Biden stated. At an event in Durham in June, the EPA gave $1 million to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for lead testing in schools and daycare centers. EPA representatives and NCHHS joined Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams in announcing and praising the funding.
“I am grateful to our federal and state partners that help us in detecting and eliminating potential exposure that guarantees the safety of our children. This is public health in action – working together for the health and well-being of North Carolinians,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley.
