Moving forward, we will be releasing short audio briefs explaining the stories we report. They’re meant to be a quick way to learn what we’re working on. We hope that you’ll listen.
First up in this new feature is reporter Inori Roy discussing the recent investigation into lead in the drinking water of Ontario schools and daycares:
Two years after journalists revealed that nine per cent of schools and daycares in Ontario exceeded national safety guidelines, the scale of the problem remains unchanged.
The most recent data shows one in 10 water quality tests from Ontario schools and daycares found lead levels above Health Canada’s maximum accepted concentration of five parts per billion (ppb).
As was the case two years ago, roughly a third of public schools that tested for lead found at least one exceedance, while another 60 private schools and nearly 150 daycares had at least one exceedance.
The Toronto Star has created a searchable database for you to explore. Simply input any school or daycare in the province to see the last five years of lead testing results.
Read the full investigation on the Toronto Star’s website.
You can find Inori Roy on Twitter @royinori