| See the Topic Background
for an introduction to the topics covered in this section. Key
findings are presented below.
Lead in California Schools
- Thirty-two percent of all public elementary schools surveyed
in California had both lead-based paint and some deterioration
of paint. See Measure S1.
- Eighty-nine percent of all California schools studied had detectable
levels of lead in soils. Only 7 percent of the schools had lead
levels in soil at or exceeding the EPA hazard standard. See Measure
S2.
- Approximately 15 percent of schools had lead levels in drinking
water that exceeded EPA’s drinking water standard on the
first draw. Drinking water from approximately 6.5 percent of schools
remained above the standard on the second draw. Second draw samples
are more representative of the lead concentrations that children
are exposed to during most of the day. See Measure
S3.
Pesticides in Minnesota Schools
- Approximately 47 percent of responding school custodians in
Minnesota reported that they sprayed pesticides “as needed”
in the classroom. Forty percent of the responding custodians reported
that their schools provided no notification of pesticide use (such
as notices in fumigated areas or pre- and postapplication letters
to students and teachers). See Measure S4.
Birth Defects in California
- Heart defects are the most common birth defect in California,
with 1.8 cases per 1,000 live births in 1997-99. The rates of
birth defects in California generally remained constant during
the 1990s. See Measure S5.
Special Features: Topic Background
This Special Features section presents measures of environments
and health disorders for which data are available only for individual
states, not for the nation as a whole.
The measures in this section address potential exposures to lead
and pesticides at schools, an environment where children spend a
significant portion of their time. The data on lead in schools are
from California; the data on pesticides in schools are from Minnesota.
The final measure in this section presents trends in birth defects,
a collection of childhood conditions for which there is some suspected
environmental influence, using data from California.
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