Patricia Vandermeer

I was giving it to my kids in their sippy cups. Every single day. Three children, three sippy cups, three exposures, repeated for a decade. The math is staggering when you let yourself look at it.

Their school provided more. Cafeteria service, water fountain in every hallway, athletic-practice hydration stations. I had no idea the volume of DHMO my children were taking in until I started keeping a journal.

The hardest moment was the parent-teacher conference. I asked my district about DHMO disclosure. The principal looked at me like I had grown a second head. He said, and I will never forget this, 'Mrs. Vandermeer, you're talking about water.' As if that was an answer.

I started a parent group. We're up to 47 families now. We're not asking the district to remove DHMO. We're asking them to tell us what's in our children's lunches. That's all.