H2OAlliance Urges Schools to Take Action on Emerging Drinking Water
Issues
October 23, Atlanta, GA, 2009 (H2OAlliance Global) ---- Drinking water experts
representing some of the world’s leading companies and organizations today
launched a campaign urging schools to address with urgency the emerging drinking
water issues.
In a study released by the Associated Press in September 2009, the
AP reports that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all
50 states — in small towns and inner cities alike. Roughly one of every five
schools with its own water supply violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the
past decade, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The
latest studies show that up to one in six Americans might be ingesting some
level of pharmaceuticals in their drinking water.
Over
the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the United
States has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of
other toxins. The contamination is most apparent at schools with wells, which
represent 8 to 11 percent of the nation's schools. Roughly one of every five
schools with its own water supply violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the
past decade, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Because contaminant levels in water can vary from drinking fountain to drinking
fountain, and different children drink different amounts of water,
epidemiologists often have trouble measuring the potential threats to children's
health. But children have suffered health problems attributed to school water.
The contaminants are especially dangerous to children, who drink more water per
pound than adults and are more vulnerable to the effects of many hazardous
substances.
It is
increasingly clear that lack of access to safe drinking water at schools can be
a health risk to students. In many schools, students fear getting sick from the
drinking fountain. Experts and child advocates complain that responsibility for
drinking water is spread among too many local, state and federal agencies, and
that risks are going unreported. The problem has gone largely unmonitored by the
federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has
multiplied.
Finding a solution, would require a costly new national strategy
for monitoring water in schools. The government has gradually adopted stricter
standards for contaminants such as arsenic and some disinfectants. Many of the
same toxins can also be found in water at homes, offices and businesses.
Treatment systems can help schools provide safer water for students.
Experts urge school administrators to look into point-of-use filtering systems
that provide the highest technology available to treat drinking water. Less than
two percent of all water consumed is ingested by humans, making these
“point-of-use” systems the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly
available. Filtering systems act as a final contaminant barrier and can further
purify water for drinking.
H2OAlliance is committed to help correct this widespread problem. The
concrete target is to educate individuals about simple steps they can take to
mitigate drinking water risk and to stay healthy. H2OAlliance calls on business
leaders and volunteers to take a number of actions in their local communities,
including working more actively with students and schools, through education
initiatives such as the 'LetCleanWatersFlow' or simply donating a point-of-use
treatment system to a local school.
The
importance of achieving safe and clean drinking water for all students at
schools across the U.S. will help ensure that allocations for point-of-use
drinking water treatment systems will increase and that associated risks will
decrease.
“We
are pleased that schools have taken this drinking water issue seriously.
Increasing demand for clean and safe drinking water also represents the fact
that today’s problems demand collective and coordinated action and an appeal for
public and private partnership in every community.”, said Denise Simone, VP of
Corporate Communications, H2OAlliance Global.
For more information:
Quick reference to Drinking Water Contaminants
Unsafe Toxins Found in
Drinking Water at Thousands of U.S. Schools
LetCleanWatersFlow - partners in education
FreshWaterAlert
H2OAlliance Water Quality Working Group
H2OAlliance Risk Mitigation Working Group
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