How does lead get into water supplies in schools?
Many older schools – built before 1970 - were constructed with lead water pipes which have never been renovated.
The lead in the pipework can contaminate the drinking water - even low levels of lead are toxic and can reduce children’s IQ and damage their nervous system.
Lead in drinking water is also harmful in pregnancy and when breastfeeding.
Health and safety reps should verify that checks have been carried out on the school drinking water system to demonstrate that it is lead-free.
How do I know if my school has lead water pipes?
Any school built before 1970 could have lead pipework – if you have any doubts, speak to your head teacher in the first instance.
If the school doesn’t know, they should contact the local water company for advice.
What can be done about old lead pipework?
If a school suspects it has lead pipework or has a test which has failed for lead, it should contact its local water company who will be required to enforce the removal of the lead pipe by the owner of the building.
So, the cost of removal and replacement could fall on cash-strapped school/employers themselves. However, in some parts of the UK, water companies have removed lead piping from schools.
Thames Water, for example, has replaced piping in hundreds of schools which used to have lead pipes.
What about brass fittings like those used in water fountains?
Brass plumbing fittings, like those used in water fountains, can contain low levels of lead and can release that lead if water sits in them for a long time – or if chemicals like chloride make the water corrosive, meaning small amounts of pipe start leaking into the water.
To help stop this happening, water companies in the UK add corrosion inhibitors, such as orthophosphate, to drinking water.
What should schools do?
Schools/employers have a responsibility under the Management of Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1999 to carry out risk assessments both generally, and individually, for pregnant/breastfeeding women.
Where lead pipes are in existence, risk assessments should state that pregnant/breastfeeding women should not drink water from taps on the school site, unless the piping has been remediated. The school should provide free bottled water for use by pregnant/breastfeeding women in such cases.
Similarly, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must conduct their undertaking so as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of persons other than employees - this includes pupils. As such, bottled drinking water should be used particularly for younger children where lead pipes remain in place.