New Jersey

New Jersey Requiring Schools Test Water for Lead

All New Jersey public schools will be required to test for lead in their water supplies starting next school year.

Gov. Chris Christie asked the legislature on Monday to authorize $10 million to pay for the testing, but will mandate it either way. In March, testing found elevated lead levels in school buildings in Newark.

"I think it’s the right thing to do because there’s a public concern about it," Christie said.

The governor also announced the state is lowering its lead action level to match the standard set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The action will guarantee state aid to children with lower detectable levels of lead in their blood then previously.

"We’re going to lower it there so parents have absolutely no concern about the effect lead might have on their kid," the governor said.

The governor’s announcement come one month after he steered $10 million toward ridding his state’s aging homes from lead paint. This March, the NBC10 Investigators exposed New Jersey diverting millions of dollars from its lead remediation fund to the state’s general fund.

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