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Massachusetts Gets 'D' In Report On Lead Contaminating Schools' Drinking Water

BOSTON (CBS) – A new report says Massachusetts isn't doing enough to address lead in schools' drinking water.

The national report from Public Interest Research Groups called "Get The Lead Out" gave the Bay State a "D" grade "for policies that do too little to address the problem" of pervasive lead contamination.

Read The Full Report (PDF)

Massachusetts got the same grade in 2017.

"Schools should be safe places for our kids to learn and play, but Massachusetts is still not doing enough to protect our kids from lead in drinking water," said Emma Dietz, who works on clean water at Environment Massachusetts, in a statement. "We need policies that actually get the lead out of faucets and fountains in our schools and pre-schools."

The report found that more than half of the 43,000 taps tested from 980 Bay State schools since 2016 tested positive for lead, and most exceeded the 1 part per billion limit set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Leicester Memorial Elementary had a tap that tested at 22,400 parts per billion, the report noted.

CBS News spoke to Julie Ma, whose young daughters take water bottles to a Boston elementary school because water fountains there had to be turned off due to lead contamination. That was three years ago - now the school brings in bottled water for students to drink.

"We had gotten a letter from the superintendent that her school was one of the schools that tested above the 15 parts per billion and that as a precaution they were turning off all the water fountains even though it was only one fountain that was tested," Ma said.  "It's concerning. I really would like to get the lead out of the water supply as fast as possible for the students ... Many schools don't even know if they have it and haven't been able to make those changes."

Twenty-one other states also received failing grades. But the report also said there is some cause for optimism in Massachusetts. Bills filed by Sen. Joan Lovely, D – Salem, and Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D – Lynn, would require regular testing of lead in schools' water, the installation of filters and the removal of lead service lines. Gov. Charlie Baker also gets credit for proposing up to $30 million in his budget for lead remediation in schools.

"My hope springs eternal that this will be the year that we can ensure that children in all schools in the Commonwealth have access to clean drinking water," Lovely said in a news conference. "It's absolutely our obligation and our responsibility to make sure that happens."

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