About the Program - Information about Lead and Asbestos Hazards

Lead in Drinking and Cooking Water

Although there is a ban on lead in paint and gasoline, there is still an allowable amount of lead in piping and plumbing used for drinking and cooking water. Lead can leach into the water from corroded pipes that connect a tap to the water utility. Older buildings built before 1988 can also have piping and plumbing made of 100% lead. Lead can also be found in even modern plumbing fixtures and faucets. You cannot see, taste or smell lead. The only way to know if lead is present is to test for it.

The level of lead detected in drinking water samples can vary from tap to tap within a building, which is why it is important to test every tap used for drinking or cooking purposes. Sometimes a facility can find lead in one tap, but not others—this suggests there could be lead in some of the fixtures themselves (e.g., faucets) or in the solder used in the plumbing. If lead is detected in all water samples in a building, this suggests the building’s main plumbing pipes could have been made with high levels of lead, especially if the building was constructed before 1988. The level of lead in each water sample also depends on when the samples were collected and can vary throughout the year based on water conditions, water use, and pipe deterioration.

This does not mean that we expect to find high levels of lead in your facility’s drinking and cooking water. Our goal is to ensure that every tap used for drinking and cooking water is safe for students and staff. You can learn more about our program’s approach to addressing lead in drinking and cooking water in our overview flyers for child care facilities and schools.

For more information on this issue and the need to safeguard children’s health, see our article overviewing the topic of lead in drinking and cooking water and the results from our pilot study.

Lead-Based Paint

Lead is a naturally occurring metal that was previously added to paint for durability and appearance. Paint with high lead content is known as lead-based paint and was often used in buildings until it was banned in 1978. Lead-based paint can be present both inside and outside of buildings, including on doors, door frames, floors, walls, and window sills. Some facilities may have already removed lead-based paint hazards from their buildings.

While lead-based paint was used for durability, it can pose a public health concern when it is not safely managed. Deteriorating lead-based paint from wear and tear or renovations can cause paint chips and lead in dust to accumulate inside. Areas outside like playgrounds can also become contaminated when exterior lead-based paint flakes or peels and gets into the soil or mulch. Children can be exposed to lead by touching surfaces, hand-to-mouth behavior, or ingesting lead paint chips, lead dust, or lead-contaminated soil. When lead is absorbed into the body, it damages the brain and other vital organs. There is no safe level of lead exposure. Early childhood lead exposure can cause lifelong behavioral and cognitive deficits. Lead poisoning is preventable by eliminating exposure to lead hazards.

Inspecting for lead hazards can include using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) to identify the composition of materials while on-site, and/or taking samples of paint, dust, and soil to later analyze in a lab. These on-site assessments must be completed by a certified lead risk assessor. It is important to rely on certified professionals to ensure that lead-based paint assessments, abatement, and building renovation activities are completed in a safe way.

This does not mean that we expect to find lead-based paint hazards in your facility. Our goal is to ensure that students and staff are safe from lead-based paint hazards that may exist in buildings. You can learn more about our program’s approach to addressing lead-based paint hazards here.

Asbestos-Containing Material

Asbestos is a general term referring to a group of naturally occurring minerals that tend to separate into fibers are resistant to heat and corrosion. Because of its physical properties, asbestos was commonly used for many years in a variety of building materials, such as ceiling tiles, fiber-reinforced cement, floor tiles, insulation, roofing, and even woven materials like fireproof curtains and gaskets. Buildings built prior to 1988 are more likely to contain asbestos hazards, but asbestos can also be found in post-1988 buildings.

While asbestos has many useful properties for building materials, asbestos poses a concern for public health when asbestos-containing building materials are not safely managed. When asbestos-containing materials are disturbed or damaged, tiny asbestos fibers can be released into the air. Airborne asbestos fibers may even settle in dust, which can be resuspended into the air when it is disturbed by routine activities in the building. When these fibers are breathed in, they can get trapped in the lungs and remain there for a long time. They can also migrate from the lungs to other spaces in the body.

Asbestos exposure irritates lung tissue and can lead to serious respiratory diseases and certain cancers, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. Some of these diseases take many years to develop, so exposure in childhood can lead to the development of asbestos-related disease later in life. There is no safe level of asbestos exposure for any type of asbestos fiber.

Health risks from asbestos exposure increase with the length and frequency of exposure.

The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), established in 1986, requires schools to inspect for asbestos-containing material, prepare asbestos management plans, and take action to prevent exposure to asbestos hazards. Inspecting for asbestos hazards can include assessing the condition of building materials and collecting samples of building materials. The EPA requires trained and accredited professionals to complete asbestos inspections and any mitigation actions. It is important to rely on accredited professionals to ensure that asbestos inspections, abatement, and building renovation activities are completed in a safe way.

This does not mean that we expect to find asbestos hazards in your facility. Our goal is to ensure that buildings are safe for children and staff. You can learn more about our program’s approach to addressing asbestos hazards in our overview flyers for child care facilities and schools.