Boston Public School officials announced that recent testing had discovered high lead levels in the water in four school buildings.
Advertisement
According to BPS, parents of students at the schools were notified about the elevated lead levels.
If lead is found, the department will work with those schools to figure out how to address the problems, such as by removing a water fountain or replacing pipes.
All 38 Boston schools with active drinking fountains have been tested, and the total number of schools with unsafe lead levels has come to four.
Officials haven’t said why the test results were not reviewed and shared with the public a year ago.
The funds will provide technical assistance to ensure public schools can sample taps and water fountains in their schools.
Seattle Public Schools has results from its water-quality tests online.
New test results for both Mann and Reed elementary should return in a few days. Dan Voelpel, a spokesman for the district, said the district standard is 20 ppb or less.
Thirty-eight schools with active water fountains have been assessed, and finalized results for 26 schools have been made available as of today, Sunday, April 24.
In Pennsylvania, 43 samples tested high among 37 facilities, and in New Jersey, 34 cases of high readings were revealed among 23 school facilities.
Seattle Public Schools sent out a statement on Tuesday saying the district school board in 2004 adopted a drinking water policy that includes “periodic testing of each drinking water source in each school”, and that the district “considers student health and safety as a top priority”.
“Now I will never know if exposure to lead in the first trimester was a contributing factor to my son’s autism”, she said through tears. About 90 other district schools use only bottled water for drinking. And although lead is the contaminant of greatest concern, it won’t be the only one tested for. Wilkins said it wasn’t immediately known why earlier action was not taken on the test results, which found “higher than accepted” levels of lead.
In 1991, DEP began implementing the federal EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule to regulate lead and copper levels in drinking water.
Advertisement
Officials hope to test water at ten more homes where gooseneck connectors are believed to exist. Particularly in buildings with older pipes and infrastructure, lead can leech into the water supply.
