EPA awards Missouri nearly $500K to reduce child lead exposure from water

(Lenexa, KS) — Missouri will get nearly a half million dollars to address lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency grants are aimed at helping reduce child exposure to lead in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities. The program has provided over $200 million in grants nationally over the past several years, leading to testing at thousands of schools and childcare facilities across the country as well as thousands of lead remediation projects.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says even low levels of lead in blood can be tied to developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral issues.

Lead exposure to children is also an issue in the Missouri’s housing stock. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Twenty-one-percent of Missouri homes were built before 1950, when lead-based paint was widely used. 65-percent of Missouri housing was built before 1978 and may contain some lead-based paint.