The purpose of this manual is to demonstrate how drinking water in schools and non-residential buildings can be tested for lead and how contamination problems can be corrected if found. Exposure to lead is a significant health concern, especially for young children and infants whose growing bodies tend to absorb more lead than the average adult. Pregnant women and fetuses are also vulnerable to lead in addition to middle-aged men and women.
Drinking water represents one possible means of lead exposure.
The lead in such plumbing may leach into water and pose a health risk. The longer water remains in contact with leaded-plumbing, the more the opportunity exists for lead to leach into water. Even though water delivered from your community's public water supply must meet Federal and State standards for lead, you may still end up with too much lead in your drinking water because of the plumbing in your facility and because of the building's water use patterns. If lead problems are found, they can then be corrected. As resources allow, we will update or improve this file.