BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 334
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|Author: |Leyva |
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|Version: |4/20/2015 |Hearing |4/29/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner |
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SUBJECT: Pupil health: drinking water
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1. Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and California Safe
Drinking Water Act, requires drinking water to meet specified
standards for contamination (maximum contaminant levels) as
set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US
EPA) or the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
2. Under the Calfiornia Human Right to Water Act states that all
"human beings have the right to safe, clean, affordable, and
accessible water."
3. Prohibits the use of any pipe, pipe or plumbing fitting or
fixture, solder or flux that is not "lead free," as defined
in statute, in the installation or repair of any public water
system or any plumbing in a facility providing water for
human consumption after January 1, 2010.
4. Requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh
drinking water during meal times in school food service
areas.
5. Authorizes the governing board of a school district to adopt
a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with the
above requirement. The school board must demonstrate the
reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints
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or health and safety concerns. The resolution must be
publicly noticed on at least 2 consecutive meeting agendas
and approved by at least a majority of the governing board of
the school district.
6. Under the the Lead-Safe Schools Protection Act, the
California Department of Public Health (DPH) is required to
perform various activities related to reducing the risk of
exposure to lead hazards in public schools, including
identification of potential lead exposure risks.
7. The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act provides services
for the purpose of increasing awareness regarding the hazards
of lead exposure, reducing lead exposure and increasing the
number of children assessed and their blood tested for lead
poisoning. The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
offers home visitation, environmental home inspections and
nutritional assessments to families of children found to be
severely lead-poisoned.
This bill:
1. This bill would delete the provision authorizing a school
district to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to
provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal
times. The bill would instead specify that a school district
shall provide access to free, fresh, clean drinking water
during meal times through the use of drinking water access
points, as defined.
2. Requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh,
clean drinking water throughout the schoolday, including, but
not limited to, during recreation times, as specified.
3. Requires a school district that has drinking water sources
with drinking water that does not meet US EPA drinking water
standards for lead or any other contaminant to close access
to those drinking water sources, to provide alternative
drinking water sources, as specified, and to notify specified
persons if the school district is required to provide those
alternative drinking water sources.
4. Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to work
with DPH to develop guidelines and best practices to ensure
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that lead hazards are minimized in the course of school
repair and maintenance and abatement procedures.
5. Prohibits drinking water that does not meet the US EPA
drinking water standards for lead from being provided at a
school facility and would require a school district that has
such drinking water to identify the most urgent mitigation
needs and develop a protocol or plan for mitigation.
6. Require the DPH to test drinking water sources at all
schoolsites for lead in the drinking water and would require
a school district to report information related to this
testing to the CDE and DPH.
7. Requires a school that has lead-containing plumbing
components to flush all drinking water sources at the
beginning of each schoolday, as provided.
Background
1. Lead: Recognized Hazards.
Lead has been listed under Proposition 65 since 1987 as a
substance that can cause reproductive damage and birth
defects, and has been on the list of chemicals known to cause
cancer since 1992. Lead is a neurotoxin and is particularly
hazardous to children.
Lead in young children even at very minute levels can result
in reduced IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit
disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired
hearing, and kidney damage.
For adults, high levels of exposure to lead can result in
kidney problems, high blood pressure, nerve disorders,
fertility problems, muscle and joint pain, irritability,
memory and concentration problems. Furthermore, pregnant
women can pass lead contained in their bodies to their
fetuses.
The Centers for Disease Control states there is no evidence
of a threshold below which adverse effects are not
experienced.
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2. Lead in Plumbing.
Lead is a common additive in plubming materials such as lead
solder, brass, bronze and other alloys. Any plumbing product
containing lead that is in contact with water is a potential
source of drinking water contamination.
Lead primarily enters drinking water from the corrosion of
plumbing materials that contain lead and are in contact with
the water. Lead that leaches from pipes and faucets into
drinking water cannot be easily detected nor removed.
As noted above, exposure to lead in drinking water can cause
a variety of adverse health effects, especially in children
and infants.
3. No Existing Requirement to Test at Schoolsites.
Current law requires drinking fountain water to be clear and
without unusual taste or odor, and have no evidence of moss,
mold, or excessive staining. There is no requirement in
current law regarding the testing of drinking water, for lead
or any other contaminants, at schoolsites.
4. Survey of Schools.
Current law requires the State Department of Health Services
(now called DPH) to conduct a sample survey of schools to
determine the likely extent and distribution of lead exposure
to children from paint on the school, soil in play areas at
the school, drinking water at the tap, and other potential
sources. The Department of Health Services conducted a
study, beginning in 1994, of the extent of lead contamination
in paint, soil and water in California schools. Data was
collected from 200 randomly selected schools between 1995 and
1997; the report was submitted to the Legislature in 1998.
The report states:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA) has set the action level for lead in drinking
water at 15 parts lead per billion (ppb) parts water.
The action recommended by USEPA is to remove the
drinking water outlet from service immediately until the
lead content falls below the action level. Study data
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indicate that an estimated 18.1 percent of California
schools are likely to have lead in drinking water at or
above the federal action level. Lead exceeding this
level was found at 10.5 percent of schools where the
sampled outlet had been used within 24 hours of testing.
These findings indicate that in some situations
drinking water from school water outlets could
contribute to children's lead exposure, and demonstrate
a need for monitoring lead from drinking water outlets
in schools. Water from outlets that have been left
standing for 24 hours are generally more likely to
contain higher lead levels than water from outlets that
have recently been flushed. However, within the study,
this flushing procedure did not always reduce lead
content to below the action level. The age of the
school was not a significant factor in the amount of
lead in drinking water.
Current law required the DPH to work with CDE to develop
guidelines to ensure that lead hazards are minimized in the
course of school repair and maintenance and abatement
procedures. These guidelines were never developed.
5. Los Angeles Unified.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) requires all
drinking water fountains, faucets and food service faucets to be
flushed for a minimum of 30 seconds prior to the first use each
day. Reference Guide REF-3930.3 states:
Water that remains stationary within standard
piping for extended periods of time can leach
lead out of pipes joined with lead-containing
solder as well as brass fixtures or galvanized
pipes. Flushing fixtures has been found to be an
effective means of reducing lead levels below the
Action Level set by the Environmental Protection
Agency. Based on past studies and current data,
all drinking water fountains, faucets and food
service faucets must be flushed for a minimum of
30 seconds prior to the first use each day.
Faucets not used for human consumption which are
labeled "Hand Wash Only" or "Laboratory Use Only"
are not required to be flushed daily.
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According to the Los Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD), the district tested drinking fountains for
lead annually between 1988 and 2009, but halted
testing due to budget reductions. In 2013, the LAUSD
Board of Education requested an audit titled
"Maintaining School Cleanliness and Safety" after the
board expressed concerns about the effectiveness of
the district's cleanliness, safety and custodial
programs due to the declining budget for maintenance
and operations.
One of the audit's objectives was to assess the daily
flushing of drinking fountains. The audit found, of
the 35 schoolsites visited, 23 had drinking fountains
inside the classroom; six of the 23 schoolsites did
not flush the drinking faucets for a minimum of 30
seconds prior to the first use each day. The audit
also found that, although the classroom drinking
faucets had not been flushed, the administrators at
the six schoolsites had certified that all applicable
fixtures had been flushed.
The LAUSD reports it has replaced drinking fountains
at 200 schoolsites at a cost of $15,000 - $20,000 per
drinking fountain.
1. Existing Requirement to Provide Drinking Water.
Current law requires school districts to provide access to
free, fresh drinking water during meal times in the food
service areas. School districts currently have the authority
to adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply
with this requirement and demonstrate the reasons why it is
unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and
safety concerns. This bill eliminates the ability for school
districts to adopt a resolution exempting themselves from
providing fresh drinking water during meals. It is unclear
how many districts adopted such a resolution, or the reasons
for not being able to meet the requirement to provide free,
fresh drinking water during meal times.
Comments
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1. Purpose of Bill.
According to the author, "To date, there are few guidelines
or requirements for the monitoring of water quality and
access in schools that receive water from public water
systems. There is a lack of attention in the statute for
monitoring water on school sites after it has been delivered
to them from a water system, regardless of its
categorization. Standards for water quality monitoring and
compliance in schools are not found in statute. State
plumbing codes pertaining to school drinking fountains are
outdated as most other states have more stringent
fountain-to-student ratios and provide more flexibility for
compliance. Currently, 38 states require at least one water
fountain per 100 students, while California requires one per
the first 150 students and one per each 300 thereafter."
2. Clarifying Amendment Needed.
The bill specifies compliance meaure if drinking water does
not meet US EPA drinking water standards for lead or any
other contaminant. As SWRCB also sets water standards for
the state, the bill should be amended to specify both US EPA
and SWRCB.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 496 (Rendon) authorizes the California Department of
Education (CDE) to receive funds from any available state and
federal source, to be allocated to school districts to comply
with the existing requirement to provide fresh drinking water
during meals. AB 496 requires the CDE to identify available
sources of funding, including funds for safe drinking water
programs administered by the CDE, the State Department of Public
Health, the Department of Water Resources, and the State Water
Resources Control Board. AB 496 is pending in the Assembly
Education Committee.
SB 1413 (Leno), Chapter 558, Statutes of 2010 requires school
districts to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during
meal times in the food service areas. School districts may
adopt a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this
requirement and demonstrate the reasons why it is unable to
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comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns.
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT:
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Black Health Network
California Food Policy Advocates
California State PTA
Children Now
Clean Water Action
Community Food and Justice Coalition
Community Water Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
OPPOSITION: None on file
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT:
The support states that, "schools throughout California have
been impacted by unsafe drinking water at the tap, and many
schools face recurring challenges to providing safe water?
Consumption of unsafe water in schools is a substantial health
risk to children as they are more susceptible to the health
effects of exposure to lead and other contaminants."
DOUBLE REFERRAL :
This measure was heard in Senate Education Committee on April
16, 2015, and passed out of committee with a vote of 7-0.
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