The amount is in addition to $184, 000 awarded to the state last year, on top of $222, 000 granted in late 2020 as part of an initiative to protect children from lead in drinking water in Hawaii. The program requires recipients to train, test and take action to reduce lead in drinking water.
The Biden-Harris administration announced the latest award to Hawaii as part of $26.2 million granted to participating states and territories across the U.S.
“The science is clear : There is no safe level of exposure to lead, ” said Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott in a news release. “As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, this $26 million will help protect our children from the harmful impacts of lead. EPA is also investing $15 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to remove lead pipes and is providing technical assistance to communities to help them develop and implement lead pipe replacement projects.”
In children, lead can severely harm mental and physical development, slow down learning, and irreversibly damage the brain, according to the EPA. In adults, lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and cancer.
Facilities built before 1988 pose a greater risk, the EPA said, as they are more likely to contain lead-bearing materials in their plumbing.
The funding announced today was authorized by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016.
In initial testing from 2021 to 2022, the Hawaii Department of Health found of the state’s public elementary schools had high lead levels in at least one sink or drinking water fountain.
Since 2019, the has provided over $150 million in funding to conduct testing and removal of lead sources in drinking water in schools and child care facilities across the U.S.
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