The approval three years in the past by Gov. Mills and the Maine Legislature of L.D. 153, laws beforehand vetoed by Paul LePage, is bearing fruit at present by exposing the contamination of water by lead in faculties throughout Maine. On the time of his 2018 veto of L.D. 40, LePage said: “If faculties are unwilling to benefit from free testing and the remediation funding now accessible to make sure correct public well being, one other statute isn’t going to make them do it.” This proved a missed alternative.
Childhood publicity to steer is an issue in Maine due to a mix of paint from growing older housing inventory and contaminated soil and water. In its 2018 Replace on Childhood Lead Poisoning and Prevention, the Maine Middle for Illness Management and Prevention said that in 2017, 3 p.c of youngsters examined in Maine have been newly identified as lead poisoned. In 2017, then-state Sen. Rebecca Millett of Cape Elizabeth cited elevated water lead ranges in Benton and Yarmouth as trigger for testing the water in all Maine faculties.
Many faculties that Maine youngsters attend have been constructed earlier than June 1986, when lead and solder in pipes have been banned by Congress. In response to the World Well being Group, school-aged youngsters are significantly susceptible to well being and developmental issues after publicity to excessive ranges of lead. Of specific concern is the impact on the growing mind, leading to decrease IQ, behavioral modifications and diminished instructional attainment. There isn’t any recognized protected stage of blood lead focus. A Tufts College research revealed within the Maine Coverage Evaluate in 2010 ascertained that infants born in Maine annually may count on to earn $270 million much less as a gaggle over their lifetimes due to the neurological penalties of lead poisoning.
The excellent news is that lead poisoning is preventable. L.D. 153 set into movement the requirement for all faculties to check ingesting water for lead. Testing started final Oct. 1 and continues till Might 31. The outcomes of those checks can be found to the general public.
Earlier this month, our household obtained the group publication e mail from our superintendent notifying the varsity group that lead water testing outcomes had been revealed on-line. My daughter’s district had been voluntarily monitoring for lead since 2017. Eighteen sinks in my daughter’s college have been discovered to have elevated lead ranges and have been taken out of service given new, stricter necessities. York Excessive Faculty, North Yarmouth Academy, St. Brigid Faculty, Boothbay Area Elementary Faculty, Calais Center-Excessive Faculty and plenty of different faculties all through the state have water fixtures with elevated lead ranges. It might have been simpler to proceed to disregard this drawback; nonetheless, the Maine Legislature and Division of Well being and Human Companies took motion. I’m grateful that this menace to my little one’s well being and the well being of her classmates, lecturers and faculty employees is now recognized for correct remediation.
The American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure invoice, contains funds to exchange all of America’s lead pipes and repair strains. Given the expense of lead paint abatement and pipe substitute, which many householders in Maine are aware of, this could include a sigh of aid. The federal Environmental Safety Company will allocate $3 billion in funding to states for lead service line substitute in 2022, and $350 billion from the State and Native Fiscal Restoration Fund supplied within the American Rescue Plan can be utilized for lead service line and lead faucet and fixture substitute. This cash is critical and important to the well being of Maine youngsters.
Ship within the plumbers. Maine youngsters deserve a authorities that takes motion to guard their well being and works as exhausting as their lecturers to take care of the excellence of their faculties.
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