According to a bill passed by New Jersey lawmakers, all schools in the state are ordered to immediately check for the lead contamination in  drinking water.  This comes weeks after officials were prompted to close sinks and drinking fountains due to increased lead levels in drinking water in Newark schools.

For both testing and water filters, more than $20 million would be provided as per the measure outlined by the law makers. They are ready for expensive challenge of helping schools in replacing fixtures and old pipes, which are common causes for contamination. To take an action, the lawmakers wanted to understand the scope of the problem.

In the largest school district of the state, Newark, elevated lead levels were found in half of the school buildings. This prompted for the introduction of the bill.

The state's Democrat-controlled Senate President, Steve Sweeney, said, "We were quite surprised that we didn't have a regulation for water testing in the state."

"We're not a Third World country," he added. "This is the United States of America. And New Jersey is one of the healthiest and wealthiest states in the country. We need to do what we need to do now."

Divya