-
Apr 27, 2008 9:02 am US/Pacific
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
LAUSD Water Was Untested For Lead Until Recently
LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles public school workers have been flushing drinking fountains daily to reduce the amount of lead in the water for the past 20 years, but the monitoring of lead levels started only six months ago, it was reported Sunday.
Testing at Woodlake Elementary School in Woodland Hills recently showed 110 parts lead per every billion gallons, which almost eight times higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit. The fountain has since been closed.
Superintendent David Brewer III reassures parents that children have not been at risk even though some staffers in charge of flushing fountains and keeping a record of lead levels have been negligent.
"Brewer made a statement that even though flushing policies were not followed, he's sure that no children were harmed. Really? How would he know that?" asks Steve Thoma, whose child is in second grade at Woodlake Elementary School. "
Staff with the district's Office of Environmental Health and Safety said flushing logs were incomplete at 26 schools of the 170 schools that were visited, the Daily News reported.
No federal or state agency oversees the safety of drinking water at schools, so districts across the country often rely on a guideline set by the EPA in 1988.
LAUSD policy has been for staff to run each water fountain in all 800 schools for 30 seconds every morning to flush out any traces of lead that can accumulate in older, galvanized pipes.
Water pipes containing high amounts of lead were banned in 1993, but many LAUSD schools were built before then.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)