lead poisoning redux

We have known about the dangers of lead for decades and yet it still poses a real and present danger, just think of the recent toy recalls caused by poor manufacturing monitoring on toys made in China. So I was somewhat surprised to see that the school that my kids attend has high levels of lead in the water.

From the Burlington Post "Tom Thomson and Ryerson elementary of Burlington, the New Street site of the Gary Allan High School for adult and continuing education, W.I. Dick elementary in Milton and Montclair elementary in Oakville now all have minimum daily flushing times ranging from 20-35 minutes."

I understand that older schools can be hazardous but running the taps up-to 35 minutes when we have just come through the driest summer on record just strikes me as a give-your-head-a-shake dumbass bureaucratic moment. I love when our government officials suck and blow at the same time.

I am not downplaying the health risks associated with lead, trust me, in fact my kids have been bringing their own water since they started at the school, but is there no better way to address this issue? Is the flushed water captured and used to water the trees and plants on the property? What is the long term fix?


From the Halton website on lead in the drinking water. "Younger children are still developing and are therefore more sensitive to the neurological and blood effects of lead. As well, children less than six years of age absorb lead more easily than adults. Particular recommendations are made for formula-fed infants because the water used to make the formula can contribute 40-60 per cent of an infant's lead intake, whereas drinking water in older children and adults only contributes approximately 10 per cent of total lead intake."

This is scary stuff and is just another example that we can never really get a handle on all the pollutants out there. No matter how much monitoring or safe guards our elected officials and municipal agencies promise to put in place, we are still being poisoned every single day - even by a simple drink of water from the school fountain.