Skip to Main Content

RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By and clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.

Accept
RTI International
  • About
    • Office Locations
    • Executive Leadership
    • Corporate Governance
    • Partner with Us
      • U.S. Government
      • Clients and Funding Agencies
      • Industry and Commercial Clients
      • Foundations and Associations
      • Bilateral Agencies and Multilateral Banks
      • Universities and Academic Research Institutions
      • Suppliers and Small Businesses
    • Commitment to Quality
      • RTI's Client Listening Program
    • Ethics and Human Research Protection
    • Living Our Mission
    • Veteran Opportunities at RTI
    RTI staff support the annual Food Bank of Central and Eastern and North Carolina Sort-A-Rama

    About

  • Practice Areas
    • Health
      • Public Health and Well-Being
      • Health Care Transformation
      • Behavioral Health
      • Health Behavior Change
      • Precision Medicine
      • RTI Health Solutions (RTI-HS)
      • RTI Center for Community Health Evaluation and Economics Research
    • Transformative Research Unit for Equity​
      • Equity Capacity Building Hub
      • Social and Economic Justice Research Collaborative
      • Narrative Research and Community Engagement Lab
    • Education and Workforce Development
      • Early Childhood
      • K-12 Education
      • Postsecondary Education
      • Career and Adult Education and Workforce Development
      • Education Policy, Systems, and Governance
      • Education Research Methodologies
      • Education Technologies
    • International Development
      • Energy for Development
      • Environment
      • Global Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
      • Global Health
      • Governance
      • International Education
      • Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning, and Adapting (MERLA)
      • Youth and Economic Opportunity
      • Building Resilience Against COVID-19 in Developing Countries
      • Water
    • Climate Change
      • Clean Energy Technology and Renewables
      • Climate Finance
      • Climate Justice and Equity
      • Climate Planning, Preparedness and Resilience
      • Climate Policy
      • Climate Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Mitigation
      • Economic Impacts of Climate Change
    • Water
      • Food-Energy-Water Nexus
      • Water Quality
      • Water Sector Governance
      • Urban Sanitation
      • Water Service Provider Strengthening
      • Water Resources Management
    • Energy Research
      • Carbon Capture and Utilization
      • Biomass Conversion
      • Natural Gas
      • Energy Efficiency
      • Industrial Water
      • Syngas Processing
    • Environmental Sciences
      • Air Quality
      • RTI Center for Water Resources
      • Urban Sustainability
      • Toxics
      • Building Resiliency in the FEW Nexus
      • Climate Change Sciences and Analysis
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Justice
      • Sustainable Materials & Waste Management Solutions
    • Justice Research and Policy
      • RTI Center for Community Safety and Crime Prevention
      • RTI Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science
      • Child Well-Being and Family Strengthening
      • RTI Center for Forensic Sciences
    • Food Security and Agriculture
      • Market Systems Strengthening
      • Food Safety
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Global Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
      • Climate-Smart Agriculture
      • Agricultural Innovation
      • Obesity Prevention
    • Innovation Ecosystems
      • Innovation Advising
      • Innovation for Economic Growth
      • Innovation for Emerging and Developing Economies
      • Innovation for Organizations
      • Research, Technology, and Innovation Policy
      • Technology Acceleration
    • Military Support
      • Military Behavioral Health
      • Military Health and Human Performance
      • Military Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Domestic Violence Prevention
    RTI International Practice Areas

    Practice Areas

  • Services + Capabilities
    • Surveys and Data Collection
      • Survey Design
      • Instrument Development
      • Survey Methodologies
      • Data Collection
      • Establishment Surveys
      • Health Registries
      • Data Analysis and Reporting
      • Research Operations Center
    • Statistics and Data Science
      • Survey Statistics
      • Environmental Statistics
      • Coordinating Centers for Multisite Studies
      • Analysis and Design of Complex Data
      • Biostatistics
      • RTI Center for Data Science
    • Evaluation, Assessment and Analysis
      • Evaluation Design and Execution
      • Advanced Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
      • Evaluation, Monitoring, and Assessment
      • Economic Analysis
      • Evaluating Communication Interventions and Campaigns
      • Evidence Synthesis for Policy and Practice
      • Risk Assessment and Prediction
    • Program Design and Implementation
      • Systems Strengthening and Scaling
      • Capacity Assessment and Building
      • Policy Reform Support
      • Curriculum and Teacher Professional Development
      • Interventions and Prevention Programs
      • Implementation Science
    • Digital Solutions for Social Impact
      • Human-Centered Design of Digital Solutions
      • Digital Product Development
      • Digital Communication Campaigns
      • Digital Data Analytics
    • Research Technologies
      • Survey Technologies
      • Data Management and Decision Support Systems
      • Geospatial Science, Technology, and Visualization
      • ICT for Limited-Resource Settings
      • Mobile Applications
      • Web Applications
      • Bioinformatics
    • Drug Discovery and Development
      • Medicinal Chemistry
      • Molecular Design and Cheminformatics
      • Behavioral Pharmacology
      • Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK)
      • In Vitro Pharmacology, Bioassay Development, and High-Throughput Screening (HTS)
      • Isotope Labeling
      • Regulatory Consulting and Support for Medical Products
    • Analytical Laboratory Sciences
      • Bioanalytical and Toxicology Research
      • Forensic Sciences
      • Physicochemical Characterizations
      • Metabolomics
      • Proficiency Testing and Reference Materials
      • Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance
      • Microbiology
      • Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutics
    • Engineering & Technology R&D
      • Biomedical Technologies
      • Decarbonization Sciences
      • Environmental Exposure & Protection
      • Materials & Environment
      • Sustainable Energy Solutions
    Telephone survey data collection at our Research Operations Center

    Services + Capabilities

  • Centers
    • RTI Center for Advanced Methods Development
    • RTI Center for Communication Science
      • Communication Research
      • Communication Design
      • Communication Delivery
    • RTI Center for Data Science
    • RTI Center for Education Services
      • Teaching and Learning
      • Education Leadership
      • Peer Learning Networks
      • Strategic Consulting
    • RTI Center for Forensic Sciences
    • RTI Center for Global Noncommunicable Diseases
      • Program Financing & Economics for NCDs
      • Health Systems Strengthening for NCDs
      • Communication Science and Behavior Change for NCDs
      • Implementation Science for NCDs
    • RTI Center for Newborn Screening, Ethics, and Disability Studies
      • Disability Studies
      • Ethics
      • Newborn Screening
    • RTI Center for Water Resources
      • Water Resources Sectors
      • Water Resources Services
      • Water Resources Tools
    • RTI Global Gender Center
    • North Carolina Center for Optimizing Military Performance
    • NCCU-RTI Center for Applied Research in Environmental Sciences
    • RTI Center for Climate Solutions
    Web of wires connecting points on a board

    Centers

  • Impact
    • Newsroom
    • Insights Blog
    • Events
    • Publications
    • RTI Press
      • About the RTI Press
      • Instructions for Authors
      • RTI Press Collections
    • Projects
    • Global Reach
      • Asia
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • RTI International India
      • Africa
      • Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
      • Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
    Fighting NTDs in South Sumatra

    Impact

  • Experts
    • Our Experts
    • In-Depth With Our Experts
    • Related News
    • Experts In the Media
    • RTI Fellow Program
    Experts discussing a project during RTI's Innovation Showcase

    Experts

  • Emerging Issues
    • COVID-19 Research
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Global Health Security
    • Cannabis Research
    • Opioid Research
      • Interventions for Opioid Use Disorders
      • Preventing Opioid Misuse and Overdose
      • Treating Opioid Use Disorders
    • Policing Research and Investigative Science
    • Drone Research and Application
    • E-cigarette Research
    • Zika Virus Research
    • Integrated Governance
    trend graphs on a cellphone screen

    Emerging Issues

  • COVID-19 Research + Response
  • Global Reach
  • Insights Blog
  • Newsroom
  • RTI Press
  • Publications
  • Partner With Us
  • Careers
  • Facebook IconTwitter IconInstagram IconYouTube IconLinkedin Icon
  • Home
  • Impact
  • Newsroom
  • New Rule Another Advancement in Effort to Reduce Early Childhood Lead Exposure
Newsroom

New Rule Another Advancement in Effort to Reduce Early Childhood Lead Exposure

June 22, 2021
Share
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Email
Findings from RTI’s Clean Water for Carolina Kids program pointed to the need for a revision to lead standards for drinking water

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A bill passed this week in North Carolina revises the definition of a “lead poisoning hazard” from 15 to 10 parts per billion and updates the state’s childhood lead poisoning prevention law, which is designed to ensure that young children and pregnant women are better protected from the risks of lead exposure. The revision comes in the wake of findings from RTI International’s Clean Water for Carolina Kids Program that stricter lead standards in drinking water would benefit children in North Carolina.

“Recent findings from the Clean Water for Carolina Kids program show that drinking water is a lingering hazard in the effort to eliminate childhood exposure to lead, a neurotoxin that affects cognitive and behavioral development,” said Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, MSES, MPA, CHMM, a senior environmental health scientist at RTI and program director for Clean Water for Carolina Kids. “As there is no safe level of lead exposure for children, any reduction in the lead hazard level is a win for children’s health.”

Of the more than 3,000 centers that have participated in the program since June 2020, approximately 9% have one or more taps at or above 15 parts per billion, the prior lead hazard level. An additional 3.5% of centers had a tap at or above 10 parts per billion, but below 15 parts per billion, which under the old standards did not necessitate action to reduce lead levels.

It is expected that a reduction in the lead hazard level from 15 to 10 parts per billion will better protect the health and well-being of the approximately 30,000 young children attending child care centers with elevated lead at the tap. The statute is also expected to benefit North Carolina by reducing health care costs, special education costs, crime, and avoiding losses in lifetime earning potential.

“Once we find where the lead is at the tap, it is important to take action to fix it. Often, preventing lead exposure from drinking water in North Carolina includes low-cost solutions such as replacing a faucet fixture to a new stainless steel one, flushing water regularly, or installing and maintaining a water filter that is certified to remove lead,” said AJ Kondash, Ph.D., a research environmental scientist at RTI and the program coordinator for Clean Water for Carolina Kids.

About Clean Water for Carolina Kids
The NC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program has a longstanding role in reducing childhood lead poisoning in North Carolina from various sources of lead including leaded paint and gasoline. Since 1990, the lead hazard level in water requires action to get the lead out of drinking and cooking water when it is identified in health care and child care communities. In 2019, a new statewide rule required testing drinking and cooking water at the tap for licensed child care centers. The grant-funded Clean Water for Carolina Kids program, which is a partnership between RTI International, the NC Division of Public Health, and the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education, has tested more than 3,000 licensed NC child care centers for lead in drinking and cooking water since 2020. To learn more about the program, please visit: www.cleanwaterforcarolinakids.org.

About HB272
For more information on the final bill, HB272, click here. The bill takes effect on Dec. 1, 2021. Note that the bill does not relate to water utilities who are regulated under the federal Lead and Copper Rule. Note that child care centers that participated in the grant-funded Clean Water for Carolina Kids program have 3 years from their initial testing date to conduct repeat testing.

water faucet

Meet the Experts

Jennifer Hoponick Redmon
Jennifer Hoponick Redmon Director, Environmental Health and Water Quality
aj kondash
Andrew "AJ" Kondash Research Environmental Scientist
Keith E. Levine Senior Director, Center for Analytical Sciences

Media Info

To request an interview, contact our Media Relations team.

  • +1 919 708 8205
  • news@rti.org
Subscribe to RTI

RTI Logo
  • Partner With Us
    • US Government
    • Commercial
    • Foundations & Associations
    • Multilateral Donors
    • Universities
    • Suppliers
  • Site
    • Privacy Policy
    • Security Policy
    • Site Map
    • Terms of Use
    • Accessibility
    • Contact Us
Contact Us
Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon YouTube Icon Linkedin Icon
delivering the promise of science
for global good
RTI Health Solutions RTI Innovation Advisors RTI Health Advance

© 2022 RTI International. RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. RTI and the RTI logo are U.S. registered trademarks of Research Triangle Institute.