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State Wants More Testing After 16 Vermont Schools Show Lead In Drinking Water

Andy Paciulli, who was Academy School principal when this photo was taken in February, points to one of the Brattleboro school's fixtures that was replaced after state tests discovered lead was leaching into the water.
Howard Weiss-Tisman
/
VPR File
Andy Paciulli, who was Academy School principal when this photo was taken in February, points to one of the Brattleboro school's fixtures that was replaced after state tests discovered lead was leaching into the water.

The results of a new report found lead contamination in each of the 16 Vermont schools tested.

The state is calling for more testing, however the report says there are not enough resources to test the water in every school building in Vermont. 

The Vermont Department of Health, Agency of Natural Resources and the Agency of Education collaborated on a pilot program andtested the water in the 16 schools. The state tested nearly 900 taps across all those schools.

According to a state report released this week, every school tested had three or more taps with at least 1 part per billion of lead detected in the drinking water — which exceeds the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Five schools had elevated levels at or above 15 parts per billion, which is the Environmental Protection Agency’s "action level"for lead in drinking water.

The 16 tested schools were:

  • Academy School, Brattleboro
  • Barre City Elementary & Middle School
  • Bennington Elementary School
  • Cabot School
  • Castleton Elementary School
  • Central Elementary School, Bellows Falls
  • Elm Hill School, Springfield
  • Enosburg Elementary School
  • Johnson Elementary School
  • Ludlow Elementary School
  • Northwest Primary School, Rutland
  • Richford Elementary School
  • St. Albans City School
  • St. Johnsbury School
  • Thatcher Brook Primary School, Waterbury
  • White River School

Read the full report here [September 2018]

Lead is a toxic metal, and it is especially dangerous for children. Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of lead, as they absorb lead more easily than adults. There is no safe level of lead in the body, according to the Vermont Department of Health.

The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, brought attention to the dangers of lead leaching into drinking water from old pipes.

Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine said other states have been testing the water in schools and detecting lead in the water. And he said the results from Vermont’s pilot study highlight the need to test more schools around the state.

“This pilot does instruct us, and that was why our recommendation was, that we should expand this to a more uniform policy,” Levine said. “That’s the Health Department’s recommendation to protect the brains of our children.”

At least eight states require schools to test their water for lead, according to a recentfederal report.

But while the recent Vermont report recommends that schools throughout the state test their water for lead, it did not go so far as to require the water testing. The report states:

"The State would not have the capacity to visit each school, develop a plumbing profile and a sampling plan, or pay for the analysis and transport of water samples. ... If a requirement for lead in drinking water testing were placed on schools, additional resources would be needed to provide support and technical assistance."

The Vermont report says schools that want to test their water should expect to spend about $12 per sample. 

Levine said that while there isn’t money to start a statewide testing program, he’s hoping school districts with older buildings begin to think about testing their water.

“Everyone knows that lead is bad for developing brains," Levine said. "And if you just look at the expense for one child who may have learning or behavioral disabilities related to the fact that they had a high lead level, the cost of anything we’ve talked about would pale in comparison compared to the cost that supporting that one child would take.”

Gov. Phil Scott said he wants schools to start testing sooner rather than later, and he promises to find the funding to support the program.

“I accept that we have a responsibility to test every school for water quality, in terms of what our children are ingesting, and we'll figure out how to pay for it,” Scott said Thursday. “But I agree that ... we have to pay attention to that. The health risk is dramatic.”

The pilot testing in Vermont was done in the 16 schools between November 2017 and March 2018, and any tests that turned up levels of lead above the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion were immediately addressed.

Schools stopped using those taps, and drinking water experts worked with the schools to find a solution, which usually meant removing the taps or implementing a flushing program.

The pilot testing program was carried out to determine how prevalent elevated levels of lead were in schools and to build the state’s capacity to support schools with testing and remediation.

"There are many different types of programs so we’ve got to figure out what is the right type of program for Vermont. And I anticipate there will be some recommendations from the administration, and I also anticipate this conversation will continue with the Legislature." — Emily Boedecker, Vt. Department of Environmental Conservation

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Emily Boedecker said the report will be used to determine if further action is needed in Montpelier.

"There are many different types of programs so we’ve got to figure out what is the right type of program for Vermont," Boedecker said. "And I anticipate there will be some recommendations from the administration, and I also anticipate this conversation will continue with the Legislature.

According to the report, lead can get into drinking water after it sits in old pipes. So even if the water itself is lead-free, if it passes through old pipes, lead can end up in drinking water.

Boedecker said it’s important to test the fixtures and faucets in a school, and the report lays out some actions schools can take right away — such as shutting down water lines that aren’t used much, flushing out water lines after a holiday or weekend, or installing a filter. 

Lead was used in water pipes through the 1950s — and there could be up to 50 percent lead used in solder before that was outlawed in 1988 — and so it is possible Vermont’s older school buildings have lead pipes.

The report notes that Vermont used to provide special school construction grants to replace lead pipes and fixtures, however the school aid program was phased out in 2007.

But Boedecker said these instances of lead are quickly becoming a national issue and the Environmental Protection Agency is making money available to help states get rid of the lead in the water systems.

Update 3:22 p.m. This post was updated to include comment from Levine, Boedecker and Scott, as well as the list of tested schools.

Howard Weiss-Tisman is Vermont Public’s southern Vermont reporter, but sometimes the story takes him to other parts of the state.
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