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How Much Lead is in Your Child’s Drinking Water? Report Finds Dangerous Levels at San Diego Day Cares – NBC 7 San Diego

While the allowable amount of lead is 5 parts per billion, one San Diego child care center had the highest level of lead in the state — more than 2,000 times the legal limit

By Amber Frias •

Published May 24, 2023 •
Updated on May 25, 2023 at 1:12 pm

Search the report for your child’s school

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Pediatricians stress no amount of lead is safe for children, but new data released by the state Department of Social Services revealed hundreds of California childcare centers, including some in San Diego, had lead levels in drinking water well above the legal limit.

“The numbers were very alarming,” said Susan Little.

Little is a senior advocate with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG,) which sponsored the 2018 legislation that lead to required testing at childcare centers.

Her group ranked the schools with the highest levels of lead. Several of the ones on their list are located in San Diego, including La Petit Academy in Rancho Peñasquitos, which recorded the highest level of lead found in the state.

While the allowable amount of lead is 5 parts per billion (ppb), La Petit had 11,300. That’s 2,200 times the limit.

Use this searchable database to find the lead levels in the drinking water at your child’s school. A level over 5.0 is above the legal limit

“Lead is quite dangerous because it is a neurotoxin, and in kids, it is particularly hazardous because kids have a higher chance of absorbing lead,” said Michael Young, a medical toxicologist at Kaiser Permanente.

Young says even at low levels, lead can cause serious issues. 

“It can lead to cognitive disorders, it could decrease intelligence and be a host of organ system failures, if not detected early,” said Young.

NBC 7 reached out to le Petit Academy to ask about the findings. In a statement, they said that the highest lead results were from drinking fountains that had not been used since before the pandemic and that they had been removed from their site.

“But the San Diego center was not an outlier, because we found high lead levels up and down the state,” said Little.

Previous Coverage

NBC 7 Investigates found in 2017 San Diego County schools contained high levels of lead in drinking water. This led to an investigation into San Diego’s water lines. Read more previous coverage here

According to the Environmental Working Group, of the 1,700 childcare centers in California that were tested, eight had at least one faucet that exceeded the limit by 200 times, 76 centers exceeded the limit by 20 times and 183 centers surpassed the limit by 10 times.

“It’s very unfortunate,” said Little. “But you know, and the good news is that this is the beginning of an effort to make sure that centers are aware of what their water might contain,” said Little.

This is the first time in the state’s history child care centers are required to test all faucets and report findings.

Assembly Bill 2370, authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden, was passed in 2018 and requires licensed child-care centers built before 2010 to test for lead in drinking water every five years. 

This is the first round of testing since the law was implemented.

Little says more than just alarming parents, she hopes the data push for change in the way lead is tested. 

NBC 7 Investigates in 2017 found high levels of lead in drinking water at 19% of San Diego County schools. Some water had levels up to 29 ppb. At the time, the federal limit was 15 ppb.

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High lead levels in drinking water found in 139 San Diego child care centers

In San Diego County, 139 child care centers have reported lead levels in drinking water above state safety standards, according to state data.

Centers built before 2010 are required to test all faucets and drinking fountains, per Assembly Bill 2370. If levels are above five parts lead per billion particles, they have to be fixed. It’s part of the licensing requirements for child care centers.

If the law is not followed, repeat violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined or jailed.

The testing data that has been made public shows most child care centers are in compliance. But about one in four childcare centers across the state had lead levels above the limit.

The Environmental Working Group sponsored the lead testing law and first obtained the results from state officials.

“We’re really concerned,” said Susan Little, a senior advocate of California government affairs for the Environmental Working Group. “What’s alarming here is that we really see this as potentially the tip of the iceberg. Because the data we received only represents about 50% of licensed child care centers. We’re still waiting to get the results from the rest of them.”

There is no safe level of lead in drinking water according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One San Diego child care center has the highest testing result in California so far. La Petite Academy on Carmel Mountain Road had one test from August 2022 that showed 11,300 lead parts per billion — 2,260 times the state limit. Another test at the same center showed 787 lead parts per billion.

A total of 28 tests were done at the location and eight showed lead levels above the limit. Of those, six samples measured between five and eight parts per billion. A spokesperson for La Petite Academy, which has locations across the state, said the sources with the highest lead samples were two drinking fountains that had not been used since before the pandemic.

“These specific fountains were immediately removed from the building,” said Courtney McKenzie with Learning Care Group, the parent company of La Petite Academy. “We partnered with (a) water safety expert to remediate the remaining outlets — none of which were used for drinking water — including replacing faucets and supply lines and eliminating potential buildup. “

McKenzie said after retesting, all water sources are in compliance with state standards. State law requires centers to notify parents of the lead testing results.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency people cannot see, taste or smell lead in water. Lead pipes are most likely to be found in older cities and homes built before 1986 the EPA said. It gets into water when those pipes corrode. Lead only poses a risk through ingestion by eating, drinking or breathing it in.

Lead can come from a variety of sources including paint, water, certain products and even airplane fuel said Dr. Vi Nguyen, a San Diego-based pediatrician and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ California committee on environmental health. She tests children for lead exposure as early as one year old in her practice.

“No one wants a child to have lead — it leads to all these downstream effects … Probably the most common thing is neurodevelopmental issues. Because lead is a neurotoxin it deposits in the brain, teeth, bones, liver. It’s toxic to the brain cells. And it can increase the risk of ADHD, autism because it just shifts the IQ curve.”

Dr. Vi Nguyen, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ California committee on environmental health

“No one wants a child to have lead — it leads to all these downstream effects,” she said.

Nguyen said children are generally at higher health risks from lead exposure than adults.

“Probably the most common thing is neurodevelopmental issues. Because lead is a neurotoxin it deposits in the brain, teeth, bones, liver,” she said. “It’s toxic to the brain cells. And it can increase the risk of ADHD, autism because it just shifts the IQ curve.”

Nguyen said prolonged exposure to lead is particularly bad for kids health.

“Babies and children — they’re not fully developed yet so their organs are still growing and absorbing so they tend to absorb more of the environmental toxins per body surface area than adults,” Nguyen said.

La Petite Academy officials said they have no reports of anyone getting sick. They said they posted the test results at the school.

The third highest lead reading from drinking water at a child care center in San Diego County was at the Eastlake Community Church Preschool in Chula Vista. A test from last October showed 570 lead parts per billion, well above the state’s five part per billion baseline. The director of the preschool said in a statement that 26 water outlets were tested and two bathroom sinks had elevated levels.

“Fortunately, the affected bathroom sinks were used exclusively for hand washing and not for consumption of drinking water,” said Sherri Kelly, director of Eastlake Community Church Preschool.  “We have already taken the necessary measures to correct the issue, including replacing the hardware and restricting use of the two affected faucets.”

Kelly said the sinks are restricted from use while the center awaits results from retesting.

The fourth highest lead result in San Diego County was from the Next Generation Educational Center in El Cajon. One test from January found a 340 lead parts per billion reading. A representative from the El Cajon center said in a statement that the center has only used bottled water for drinking since it was first licensed in 2011 but did not say whether any corrective action has been taken since the lead testing.

“Our sinks are used for hand washing only,” said Geralyn Windt with the Next Generational Education Center. “Parents are required to bring their own filled baby bottles or water bottles.”

A spokesperson for California’s Department of Social Services, which regulates child care centers, said as of May 15, tests have been uploaded for 7,000 child care centers. There are about 14,500 in the state. Those built after 2010 and centers without outlets for drinking water or food preparation do not have to test for lead.

The complete list of test results can be accessed here.

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Are there kindergartens in the US?

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You are parents or future parents. Or you are just curious to know more about how kindergartens work in the USA. Kindergartens (aka daycare) welcome children from 8 weeks to 5 years old (school starts at 5 years old).

Shock number one – how are babies from 8 weeks in kindergarten? Very simple. On average, maternity leave in the United States lasts around 12 weeks, after which you decide whether to quit or return to work. In the second case, you need to think something with the child. Not everyone has magical grandmothers or money for a personal nanny. So the issue with the garden is quite relevant.

The gardens themselves are divided into 2 categories: homecare (the garden itself is someone’s house, the first floor of which is given over to business) and daycare (a classic garden in our understanding, often located on the territory of a church, or a separate building).

There are strict rules for working with children, where all the nuances are clearly spelled out (from how often they are required to change diapers, ending with food). The regulations themselves differ from state to state. For example, in California, there can be no more than four babies per adult. So the groups are always small and there are a lot of staff. All children are approached as responsibly as possible.

Parents, for their part, can set requirements for the schedule of the child (namely infants). Sleep and nutrition will be the same as you say. In kindergarten, you will bring diapers, powder, a change of clothes, a blanket and food for your child (many bring breast milk).

Groups are divided by age, there will not be a three-year-old child next to a six-month-old baby.

In the kindergarten, of course, they will help in the development of your child, learn the alphabet, counting, but no one removes responsibility from you. Start potty training, for example, you must do it yourself.

Applies to children over 2 years of age. There may be food in the kindergarten, or you may be asked to give food to the child with you. If meals are included in daycare services, you should let us know if your child has allergies or is a vegetarian. Yes, that happens too. Yes, it’s legal.

The mode itself is: breakfast, lunch and evening snack (snack). This is enough, because the most popular work schedule is from 7 am to 5:30 pm, so, logically, dinner is at home.

Children under the age of 2 usually sleep according to their parents’ schedule, and children over 2 years old according to the preschool’s schedule. During sleep, there are always awake adults nearby, and lullabies are played.

Children spend a lot of time outdoors, and they will also delight you with creative crafts and new talents.

Ask price. Gardens in America are all paid, but there are special programs for those in need, when the state pays the bill instead of you, but still someone pays for it. The price depends on the state where you live. On average, in California, the cost of Daycare (for a full day) for children from 8 weeks to 2 years old is $1450, from 2 to 5 – $1125.