Toxic metals in schools
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Heavy Metal: Lead is Another Toxic Metal in Schools

Mercury isn’t the only concern when it comes to toxic metals. Lead also poses serious health risks.

Of course, many people know that lead can cause neurological damage and other problems. It is especially damaging to children, who can process the metal even less well than adults can and who are more susceptible to neurological and other damage from toxins to begin with. People are generally aware that they should not have lead pipes for their water, should not use lead crystal to serve food and drinks, and should not use lead-based paint.

But do you know that it may still be in your schools? In terms of school environments, the presence of older, lead-based paints has drawn much of the attention, because of concerns that flakes of the paint will fall off the walls and be eaten by toddlers or young children—or fall into food and be inadvertently ingested by older children. However, while lead-based paint poses risks, removal of the paint is not always the best option.

In fact, stripping lead-based paint from the walls may actually increase exposure to lead by ensuring that plenty of flakes and lead dust will end up being carried through the air to other parts of the school. So, painting over the lead-based paint may actually be safer in many cases than actual removal, assuming the old paint is still in good condition and hasn’t shown any serious signs of flaking or peeling.

Still, you should be aware of the presence of lead in your schools, in the paint or elsewhere. And you need to know if regular repainting is being carried out, as well as other repairs, to make sure that the lead-based paint isn’t leaving the walls only to enter your kids’ bodies.

Here are a few Web-based resources with more information on lead in schools and lead in general:

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA site at www.epa.gov has a section about reducing exposure to airborne lead. Visit that section by clicking here.

Natural Resources Defense Council

Located at www.nrdc.org, this site has a section on lead-based paint, which you can reach by clicking here.

The Children’s Defense Fund

This site, at www.childrensdefense.org, has a section on lead poisoning. You can reach it by clicking here. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MERCURY

If you would like to learn more about mercury than what has been presented on the other pages of this section, here are a few Web sites you might want to visit:

Mercury in Schools

This site, at www.mercuryinschools.uwex.edu, was developed as part of a project by the University of Wisconsin Extension’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center. It is an effort to extend the center’s mercury in schools education and outreach program to not only the Great Lakes region but also the rest of the country. It features information on mercury sources, health advisories and reduction programs, a mercury in schools curriculum package, information on health issues, cultural uses, mercury in schools, mercury at home, mercury in the community, environmental impacts, the history of mercury use, and more. To visit the site, click here. A different-looking version of the same site is located at www.mercury-k12.org as well. 

Mercury

This very simply named site, at www.p2pays.org/mercury, has a section on mercury in schools that contains links to (and summaries of) other sites and resources. To visit the school-oriented section of that site, click here. 

Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association

Located at www.newmoa.org, this site has a section on mercury in schools and communities. Although it is a project of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, it has materials that could be useful to schools elsewhere as well, including a mercury assessment checklist for schools, ideas on publicizing a mercury thermometer exchange, and a series of fact sheets. To visit the mercury in schools and communities portion of the site, click here.