A Call for Action on Lead: SC Stands with Congressman Gottheimer  

Today the New Jersey Sierra Club is standing with Congressman Gottheimer in a press conference that focuses on strengthening Lead Water Protection and enhancing transparency. Gottheimer’s Lead Free School Act legislation redirects existing funding and amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to increase testing for lead and contamination in water in schools, promotes transparency by making the results accessible to families online and provides for a competitive grant program for the replacement of old fountains and infrastructure that may be leaching lead and other contaminants. Lead is a dangerous substance, especially for children, to consume and causes damage to the brain and nervous system. The Sierra Club supports Congressman Gottheimer’s legislation to give children in America access to lead-free drinking water in their schools. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“The New Jersey Sierra Club is proud to join Congressman Gottheimer in protecting our children and families from lead in their drinking water. Lead paint can cause illness and even in small amounts can lead to brain damage and learning disabilities. Lead impacts childhood development as well. We have had a lead crisis here in New Jersey and because of a lack of testing, we’re only identifying it now. We need to put our children’s health first.

“Lead is a serious problem and it’s getting worse in our state, affecting children the most. New Jersey’s children are already suffering from lead exposure and this legislation will help remove lead from schools and protect them. Lead is one of the most hazardous substances known to man and it impacts children, especially small children, in our urban areas. Thousands of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning in New Jersey each year; over 3,000 in 2015 alone. We need more oversight on lead to protect our children.

“The more you look at New Jersey, the more it starts to look like Flint, Michigan. It’s not just lead in our homes that is a problem; we’re also seeing serious problems with lead in our drinking water. In Newark, 30 public schools had to stop using their water due to unsafe lead levels. School officials knew of the problem with lead in the water for a year and a half and some filters were years expired. This is becoming more and more like Flint, Michigan: withholding information, denial and spin. Meanwhile children are drinking lead that shouldn’t be there.

“Lead is being found in drinking water across the state. Testing is currently being done in Morristown and the Passaic Valley. Despite recent focus being on drinking water, people face the threat of lead poisoning from various sources, one of the main ones being lead paint in homes. The Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund in this legislation would help remove lead from paint in homes. New Jersey needs to do more to protect people from lead and this law is a way to help do that.

“This is an important bill and we’re here to support it. We must come up with a solid plan and a funding mechanism to combat this dangerous problem and the Lead Free School Act is a start.  We thank Congressman Gottheimer in his effort to provide children in America access to lead free drinking water in their schools.