Identifying and Responding to Lead in Drinking Water in a University Setting

Audrey G. Bousquet, Lauren A. Eaves, Kim Haley, David Catalano, Gregory B. Williams, Hadley J. Hartwell, Catherine Brennan and Rebecca C. Fry ()
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Audrey G. Bousquet: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Lauren A. Eaves: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Kim Haley: Department of Environment, Health and Safety, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
David Catalano: Department of Environment, Health and Safety, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Gregory B. Williams: Department of Environment, Health and Safety, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Hadley J. Hartwell: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Catherine Brennan: Department of Environment, Health and Safety, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Rebecca C. Fry: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Lead is an established neurotoxicant, and it has known associations with adverse neurodevelopmental and reproductive outcomes. Exposure to lead at any level is unsafe, and the United States (US) has enacted various federal and state legislations to regulate lead levels in drinking water in K-12 schools and childcare facilities; however, no regulations exist for higher education settings. Upon the discovery of lead in drinking water fixtures in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) campus, a cross-campus water testing network and sampling plan was developed and deployed. The campaign was based on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 3Ts (Training, Testing, and Taking Action) guidance. The seven-month campaign involved 5954 tests on 3825 drinking water fixtures across 265 buildings. A total of 502 (8.43%) tests showed lead above the limit of detection (1 part per billion, ppb), which represented 422 (11.03%) fixtures. Fewer than 1.5% of the tests were above the EPA action level for public water systems (15 ppb). In conclusion, systematic testing of all the fixtures across campus was required to identify localized contamination, and each entity in the cross-campus network undertook necessary roles to generate a successful testing campaign. UNC-CH established preventative measures to test drinking water fixtures every three years, which provide a framework for other higher education institutions in responding to lead contamination.

Keywords: lead; drinking water; water sampling; university (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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