(AP) – A U.S. Senate environment committee plans to hold hearings to address the widespread problem of toxic drinking water in the nation’s schools.
California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer called for the hearings following an Associated Press investigation showing water supplies at thousands of schools have been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.
Boxer chairs the Committee on Environment and Public Works, which oversees the Environmental Protection Agency. She plans to hold the hearings on drinking water concerns later this year.
The AP analysis found contaminants have surfaced at schools in all 50 states, and in small towns and inner cities alike over the last decade.