Forget shoddy Chinese toys as America’s number one source of lead poisoning. Brown University’s tap water is also pretty good at killing brain cells and turning your kidneys to mush, with lead levels exceeding EPA limits ten-fold in some older buildings on campus, the Brown Daily Herald reports.

The discovery came from the intrepid students of ENVS 0490: “Environmental Science in a Changing World,” a spring course offering (we assume they made this discovery last spring, but didn’t think to share it with the rest of us until now?) The class measured quantities of lead in tap water around College Hill and discovered that non-renovated buildings, including the applied mathematics building and Meiklejohn House, have old-pipe “hotspots” with lead quantities of up to 15 parts per million. EPA regulations limit drinking water at 10 parts lead per billion. Newer buildings including the Watson Center for International Studies and Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences had almost no lead at all. And nobody’s checked the dorm water, yet.

Stephen Morin, director of environmental health and safety, received a report and copy of ENVS 0490′s raw data. He must be freaking out, right?

Currently, there is no standardized schedule for checking the lead levels of water in University buildings, Morin said. Dorms were not included in the students’ initial study, but Morin told The Herald he may pursue testing those buildings as well. [emphasis ours]

Morin has discussed the issue with Facilities Management as a result of the students’ report, saying that “the report prompts education, and it’s definitely something that we’ll be looking into.”

In the meantime, invest in a Brita.