The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Oct. 29 announced the recent award of $360,000 to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
The EPA gave a total of $5.5 million distributed in nine states to test lead in the water of child care facilities, according to Waterworld.
“Protecting children’s health is one of the most important aspects of EPA’s mission, and we could not fulfill this mission without the instrumental partnerships with our states and tribes,” Acting Regional Administrator David Gray said in an Oct. 29 press release.
The awards are part of the organization’s EPA’s WIIN Act Lead Testing in School as well as the Childcare Drinking Water Grant, according to Waterworld.
The ward for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) is part of $26 million in funding via the WIIN Act, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Supporting the action plan of lowering lead in water, the EPA focuses on the three T's: Training, Testing and Taking Action. These three T's prepare school and child-care facilities as well as the state to create a program that carries out the mission of reducing lead levels in water.
EPA takes into account that children can be more vulnerable to pollutants than adults, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
October was recognized as Children's Health Month by the EPA.
