My response to the school Vice Principal this evening. (Warning: I’m MAD! This is my kids [& their friends] we’re talking about.)
Introduction: My husband has concerns that I am a bull in a china shop when it comes to this issue. He thinks I should be treating the administrators of our children’s schools with respect because they are fellow human beings with the capacity to do good. I on the other hand am FURIOUS that after nearly a DECADE this issue (and their attitude) persists within the administration of our public schools. So with that, here’s the e-mail that I sent to the Vice Principal of my children’s school tonight after she sent me an email (LINK HERE) essentially dismissing my concern and dismissing in full the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on their standards of what levels of lead in school water is safe. Because, yah, her opinion matters over the AAP official recommendation from more than a year ago! (August 2017). I am not Ghandi. I am not Mother Theresa. I am Tamara Rubin and I am pissed off that the Portland Public School district thinks they can fuck with our (collective) children’s health. Link for supporting documentation.
Minor edits made to correct typos.
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To: Marylyn John, Carolyn Fisher, Lauraine Allen, Karl Newsome, Julie Esparza Brown, Leonard Rubin, Becky Eastman, Daniel Adkisson, Joseph Galati, Daniel Arrayan, Daniel Morell-Hart, Besty Hammond, Virginia La Forte.
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Date Sent: Friday, November 9, 2018
Time Sent: 5:54 p.m.
Email Subject: Pps water levels are still not safe for children yet you defend them anyway- do the teachers in the school know?
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Marylyn,
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The linked report is not dated. There should be a date on the PDF of the report.
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Regardless of PPS’ lax standards (and PBS Environmental’s Good-Ol-Boys relationship with PPS) the American Academy of Pediatrics standard is what should be followed. It is the standard that is protective of children’s health as set by people in the MEDICAL PROFESSIONS – not as set by government or folks in the building and construction professions.
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The fix is simple and inexpensive: any fountain that falls short of the standard that is protective of children’s health (1 ppb) should still have a warning sign. Period. Something to the effect of “PPS does not follow the American Academy if Pediatrics standards for lead levels in schools that would be protective of children’s health, drink at your own risk.” A note should be sent to parents about this as well. I can help you write something.
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To be allowing children to drink from fountains with 6, 7, 9 or 12 ppb without warning parents (and actually with a green sign encouraging them to drink at these fountains, because they are now labeled as safe) is fundamentally irresponsible.
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Your goal should be: “First do no harm” based on HEALTH based standards, which the 15 ppb is documented to not be (it is a “best industry can be expected to cost effectively achieve” standard – not a health based standard.)
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Marylyn, do you have the capacity to learn new information and advocate for our children? Or is it simply your job to defend the irresponsible actions of the district.
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Marylyn you have a chance here to be a HERO…
To do what is best for the kids…
To make a difference…
….To serve as a role model for our community ,for communities across Oregon and across the country.
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STAND UP for our children for a change instead of defending outdated policies. I’d hate to see you go the way of Carole Smith. When parents find out administrators KNOW that the standards they are using are not protective of children’s health – and that there are stricter standards and guidelines out there that you are CHOOSING not to follow, they WILL be angry.
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Now that you KNOW the American Academy of Pediatric’s standard to protect children is 1 ppb (because I told you and because I shared the EDF report with you), how can you take any action contrary to that?
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Just put warning signs on the fountains. Simple. WARN the parents and the students instead of telling them everything is okay.
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Having green “Good to drink” signs on a fountain that is positive for lead at 12.7 or 9.49 ppb lead (see attachments, PBS environmental reports with my red and green annotations) is IRRESPONSIBLE and MISLEADING AND – Most important – BAD FOR OUR CHILDREN.
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Finally – important to note: SEVERAL OF THE FOUNTAINS ARE CLOSE to 1 ppb lead. If you can do it with those three fountains, why can’t you do it with the others? You can’t say it is not achievable – obviously it is. [See the ones on the attached documents that I have marked with green arrows.]
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Peace Out. Your actions (in defending outdated standards that don’t protect children) speak for themselves, you can still make a difference here if you choose to.
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Marylyn if we did not have a multi-year history of interactions with you personally where you have been both dismissive of our attempts to address our special needs children IEPs and combative in your interactions with us, perhaps I would not be so angry in this email – but frankly I see your dismissive attitude today (about the lead in the water at your school) as part of pattern. I wonder would you even dare to go to the fountain in the Hallway by room 105 (with level of 12.7 ppb) to fill up your water bottle each day? I don’t think so. Are you familiar with the impacts of persistent low level lead exposure?
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Here’s a good article if you are not: https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/toxic_lead/
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And in case you doubt that, here’s a nice article from Harvard. Perhaps you will respect their opinion? https://tamararubin.com/2017/09/natural-2/
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I am continually impressed with your ability to cut the B.S. and call people out when they are full of it. Thank you for advocating for children, even when people WHOSE JOB IT IS TO PROTECT CHILDREN will not. Shame on PPS! Shame on everyone who looks the other way when children are being poisoned! Can’t even fathom what is wrong with people, and how they can sleep at night.
Hi Sabrina, thank you! – T