Unsafe Drinking Water in Schools and How to keep your children Safe

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 29, 2009 -
There are many things we simply take for granted and really do not have to think about on a daily basis. We assume that when we flip a light switch, the lights turn on. We expect when we turn the key on the car, that it starts. We assume that the dedicated teachers in our classrooms are giving our children the best education possible. But what we do not expect is that if our children take a drink of water from a drinking water fountain in a school hall, they could become sick.

An alarming new report is out that the drinking water inside of your child’s school could be potentially very harmful to their health. In this new report, it points out that there are thousands of public schools whose drinking water across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins. This is not an issue of having protective measures in place to protect people from water contamination; we have that with the “Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974”. The problem is that this law has gone largely unmonitored and unenforced by the government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied. Data collected shows the highest potential for drinking water contamination is most apparent at schools that have a well as the primary source of water. The number of schools who use well water is estimated to be between 8 to 11 percent, and in the past ten years, 1 out of 5 of these schools have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Contamination Violations By State:

California
Maine
Ohio
Connecticut
Indiana
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Michigan
Vermont
Wisconsin

These water contaminants are present in homes and businesses, as well as schools, and if left unchecked could cause serious health problems for every person. When looking at the levels of contamination in relationship to children, it becomes especially dangerous because the same levels of contamination have a more pronounced effect on smaller people. The most frequently cited water contaminants http://www.freshwatersystems.com/s-262-filters-by-contam ... found in school drinking water was coliform bacteria, lead, copper, arsenic, and nitrates. Although there is some debate and some difficulties in measuring the full potential threat to children's health, there have been rather conclusive incidents where children have suffered health problems attributed directly to school water.  Scientists have concluded that the toxin found in lead can wreak havoc on major organs in the body, and may retard a child's learning ability. Furthermore, experts point to an incident In 2001 where 28 school children at an elementary school in Minnesota experienced severe stomach aches and nausea after drinking water tainted with lead and copper.

We all have to ask ourselves what we can do about this problem. While understanding the problem is the first step, there are several things you as a parent can do to help dramatically reduce or eliminate the threat of your child being exposed to contaminated water from school. Some government agencies and experts have suggested that parents give their child bottled water to take to school. Although the water is more than likely very pure and lacks the harmful contaminates of school water, we would be replacing one problem with another. Plastic bottles from bottled water are not environmentally friendly, they fill up landfills, can be very expensive over a period of time, and even have a potential of leaching BPA into the water. Below are some suggestions of how to safely provide your child with drinking water, save money, and be environmentally friendly all at the same time.

1. If you are in an area that uses well water or water from a public municipality, make sure you have had your water tested and that you are using a proper water filtration and purification system ( i.e. Filtration System, Water Softening, UV Disinfection System, etc.)

2. Use a point of use filtration system, reverse osmosis system, or water distiller in your kitchen for drinking water, ice, and for cooking. http://www.freshwatersystems.com/c-137-reverse-osmosis-s ...

3. Use a stainless steel water bottle such as a Klean Kanteen. Fill your child’s water bottle and send it to school with them. http://www.freshwatersystems.com/c-557-water-bottles.aspx

4. To keep the water cold and to stop condensation on the outside of the water bottle from creating a watery mess, use a NEO TOTE ( insulated water bottle holder )

5. Easily attach the water bottle to your child’s book bag using an S-Biner Clip

6. The purchase of a Klean Kanteen, an insulated water bottle holder, and an S-Biner clip cost about $21.00. The cost of bottled water for 1 child for the average 180 days per school year is approximately $180.00.