Safe drinking water is often taken for granted in the United States, but some schools around the country find themselves struggling to protect students from toxic lead. Most cases of lead exposure come from drinking water that has traveled through old lead pipes. Many buildings in the U.S., including schools, still have lead pipes, and the cost of replacing them can be millions of dollars. Lead poisoning is especially dangerous for children and can cause side effects ranging from lowered I.Q. and attention spans to behavior disorders. After the major story of high lead levels in the water supply of Flint, Michigan broke late last year, lead contamination has received more attention. Elementary schools in places like Ithaca, New York, Newark, New Jersey and Baltimore, Maryland have very recently detected dangerous levels of lead. At Caroline Elementary in Ithaca, NY, parents received a letter notifying them that lead levels had been high for months. Baltimore City Public Schools struggled with lead levels for years before finally turning off all the drinking fountains and cafeteria sinks and switching to bottled water for students.

neurotoxin — a toxic substance that affects the central nervous system and the brain lead — a chemical element that can cause brain damage to people who consume it