Board Approves Lead Testing Proposal

The Crawford County R-1 School Board on Sept. 21 approved a proposal from Environmental Works, Inc. to test the drinking water at all buildings.

The proposal is part of the Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water, which was passed by the Missouri legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson in 2022.

Crawford County R-1 has been allocated $22,275.19 for testing and remediation. 

Superintendent Cole Byassee told the board the testing would be done by Jan. 1. Remediation must be completed by the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

Byassee said the funding allocated to Bourbon should be enough to make the district compliant.

Environmental Works will spent two days conducting an inventory of every drinking water outlet across all buildings.

A sampling and testing plan will be presented, followed by initial sampling and laboratory analysis.

The final report will then be presented.

Schools are required to remediate or remove outlets exceeding 5 parts per billion (ppb) of lead.

The report will be available to the state, staff, parents and the public.

Lead water lines are still used throughout the United States, which can leach a dangerous neurotoxin into drinking water.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says many household plumping fixtures, welding solder and pipe fittings made prior to 1986 may contain lead, of which no level is safe in the body.

Missouri implemented a lead ban in 1988.

Elevated levels of lead in the blood can result in lost IQ points, behavioral issues and death.

Doctors agree that young children are most vulnerable since their bodies absorb more lead.

Early versions of Missouri’s lead testing bill would have required schools to take action at concentrations above one part per billion, which is the maximum level recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The bill was amended due to lawmakers determining that the sophisticated lab testing required to detect concentration levels that low was not widely available.

The bill also says that buildings housing early childhood education programs, kindergarten and elementary schools must be the priority when complying inventory and testing.

Schools must provide bottled water if there is not enough water to meet the needs of students, teachers and staff and districts must submit annual testing results.