For National Lead Prevention Week, we mapped out the problem

And we provided an action toolkit to help communities fix it.

Clean water

Dan Keck via Flickr | Public Domain
Advocates are urging officials across the country to "get the lead out" and protect drinking water this National Lead Prevention Week.

For this year’s National Lead Prevention Week (Oct. 23-29), Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund updated an interactive map showing lead contamination of school drinking water across the country. The groups also released a toolkit to help families, teachers and schools get the facts on lead.

Experts warn that lead exposure exceeding a concentration of one part per billion can pose serious health risks. Yet some states have published test results showing concentrations exceeding five or even 15 parts per billion — and researchers believe the problem is worse than the current data show.

Here’s the good news: With unprecedented federal funding available, states and school districts now have the resources to replace lead-bearing fountains with water stations that have filters to remove lead from water.

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