Kaylarendha Sundling
My name is Kayla Sundling and I am a junior at IU-Bloomington. I am currently pursuing my undergraduate degree in Environmental Science in the College of Arts and Sciences. I have research experience through the Center of Excellence for Women & Technology and Sustainability Scholars. In the future I plan to work towards protecting and conserving the rivers throughout the United States.
Influence of Early-Life Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water on K-12 School Success
Past research has shown that early life exposure to environmental lead (Pb) is linked to decreased IQ, behavior problems, and juvenile delinquency. This study analyzed the influence of unregulated private well water Pb levels on end-of-grade reading and math test scores for 4th and 8th grade in Wake County, NC. We used a longitudinal dataset linking blood Pb measurements for 13,581 children under age 6 to their drinking water source, individual- and neighborhood-level demographic, and reading and math end-of-grade test scores for 4th and 8th grade from 1998-2015. We conducted a two-stage least squares regression analysis to estimate how early life Pb exposure from private well water influences the test scores. On average, children on private well water had blood Pb levels 6% than children on community water supply. If children with private well water switched to community water supply, their reading and math scores for 4th are expected to increase by 8.4 and 7.9 points respectively. Reading scores for 8th grade are expected to increase by 1.1 points and decrease by 4.3 points for math. Interventions to decrease children’s exposure to Pb in private well water may benefit children’s educational outcomes, although further research must be conducted.
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