Unsafe Water in Schools

The drinking water at thousands of the nation's public schools contains unsafe levels of lead, pesticides, and other toxins, according to an Associated Press investigation. About 2,250 schools were found to have safety violations. Problems were found in both public and private schools, located in both the city and country. Schools with wells were the most likely to have problems—those with their own water supply had a one in five chance of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past 10 years. "In California's Farm Belt, wells at some schools are so tainted with pesticides that students have taken to stuffing their backpacks with bottled water for fear of getting sick from the drinking fountain," the AP reports. Some of the toxins found can cause problems in major organs or retard kids' learning abilities.