Northern Virginia, Maryland test schools after D.C. lead water scare

Despite having different water providers, Arlington, Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George's county officials all reported lead water contamination in schools this spring after conducting tests on multiple samples. Testing for lead began in Virginia and Maryland after eight D.C. public school facilities were identified as having lead levels higher than the standard imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

School officials have taken several measures to limit the effects of lead contamination on students, including flushing and shutting down fountains, providing bottled water to students and turning off sinks until greater measures have been taken.

"I want to assure everyone that we are working to resolve this situation as quickly as possible to ensure a safe environment for our students and staff," said Arlington County Public School Superintendent Robert G. Smith.

Arlington County officials said seven out of 42 public schools had lead levels greater than the 20 parts per billion (ppb) limit imposed by the EPA: Ashlawn Elementary, Campbell Elementary, H-B Woodlawn, the Reed Center, Wilson Elementary, Yorktown High and Glebe Elementary School's temporary building. However, The Washington Post reported that officials admitted using varying methods to test the water. The EPA requires that consistent protocol be used in lead testing.

According to Mary Shaw, media specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools, Clifton Elementary was the only school in the county with lead levels greater 20 ppb. Shaw explained that because Clifton uses well water rather than water from service pipes, lead in Fairfax County Public Schools does not seem to be "a significant problem." After secondary testing, J.E.B. Stuart High and Freedom Hill Elementary revealed high lead levels, but only in sinks not used directly by students.

Montgomery and Prince George's County tested schools' water to reassure concerned citizens but found elevated lead levels in both counties. Maryvale Elementary, Gaithersburg Elementary, South Lake Elementary, Takoma Park Elementary, Cabin John Middle, Broad Acres Elementary, Stephen Knolls School, Wheaton High and Flower Hill Elementary all surpassed EPA limits and were the first to be tested in Montgomery County. In Prince George's County, over 25 schools tested positive for lead, including Ardmore Elementary, Avalon Elementary, Columbia Park Elementary, Edgar Allen Poe Elementary, Glenn Dale Elementary, Glenridge Elementary, James McHenry Elementary, Lyndon Hill Elementary and Thomas Claggett Elementary, all of which had affected water fountains.

"These findings suggest that elevated levels of lead may be found in other schools," said Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jerry Weast on the county's Web site. "We believe that it is both prudent and responsible to take certain precautionary actions in all schools to safeguard the water sources for students and staff." Preliminary actions have included flushing water fountains 15 minutes every four hours throughout the day and sending letters home with children. Montgomery County Public Schools also established a web site to update parents and teachers on lead at http://mcps.k12.md.us/info/emergency/water. Many parents send bottled water with their children to school.

Osburn High School in Manassas replaced one water fountain with a 17 ppb level as a precaution. However, all other tests in Manassas showed levels barely detectable.

The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) initiated testing for lead in schools by sampling sites in 154 D.C. schools during the week of Feb. 14. WASA sampling results showed that Ballou Senior High, Bell Multicultural Senior High, Douglass Prospect Learning Center, Dunbar Senior High, Eliot Junior High, Kenilworth Elementary, Penn Center Administration Building and Woodson, HD Senior High all had amounts of lead greater than the EPA standard in drinking fountains or sinks.

"Given the widespread nature of the tests taken throughout the District and the fact that the tests showing elevated levels were so isolated, this tells us that the lead levels in WASA's main service lines to public schools and facilities have lead levels well below the EPA acceptable levels," stated Jerry Johnson, WASA general manager, on the company Web site. WASA plans to begin replacing lead pipes service lines this month.

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams expressed dissatisfaction with WASA's participation in the lead crisis and handling of the situation. "The testing that we're doing is not acceptable," said Williams. "The protocol used by WASA needs to be objective."

The EPA recently declared in a letter to Johnson that WASA had violated six clauses of the federal Lead and Copper rule by not informing D.C. residents properly and not successfully protecting public health.

To counter school lead contamination, Washington, D.C., Arlington County and Fairfax County public schools shut down and replaced lead-contaminated water fountains and sinks, although other fountains in affected D.C. schools were allowed to continue running. Shaw explained that Clifton underwent several precautions to protect its students. "We stopped using well water…and will bring in water coolers," Shaw said. Affected Fairfax County schools provided their students with bottled water.

Lead concerns began in late January when it was discovered that WASA failed to inform thousands of D.C. residents that it found lead in drinking water last summer. The D.C. Department of Health began conducting free blood tests for those highly susceptible to lead poisoning, including children under 6, pregnant women and the elderly. According to the Department of Health Web site, 25 children, 10 of whom have lead service lines in their homes, suffer from elevated blood lead levels.

Lead poisoning is both service and asymptomatic. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ASTDR) states that with extended exposure lead can "decrease reaction time, cause weakness in fingers, wrists or ankles and possibly affect the memory." ASTDR also says that lead poisoning leads to anemia and organ damage.

Washington Aqueduct, the company that supplies water to D.C., Fairfax County and Arlington County, maintains that the water is not contaminated by lead when it leaves the treatment plants. "There is no lead in the distribution system, no lead in the Potomac River," explained Washington Aqueduct general manager Tom Jacobus. "The water is safe to drink – we aren't putting in any contaminants." Jacobus explained that lead in the water is derived from three sources: service lines from a main pipe to a single building, which were once made of lead; solder that holds metal pipes in a building together, suggesting that copper pipes can be the source of lead contamination; and fixtures that are part of the sinks and fountains where lead was discovered.

As part of a solution to the lead situation, Jacobus described a chemical treatment that would decrease the corrosiveness of the water so that it would not release lead from lead-based pipes. Although lead pipes have been banned for decades, over 23,000 lead service lines still provide water in the D.C. area alone. According to Jacobus, water in treatment plants receives an infusion of lime and caustic soda to lower its pH and reduce the impact the water has on eroding pipes, but too much can build up clogging residue. Because the amount of lime or caustic soda required would clog pipes, phosphate- or sulfur-based corrosion inhibitors are added to water to protect the pipes.

However, too much of these chemicals are also harmful. "The logic is if you don't have to put them in, you don't," said Jacobus. Washington Aqueduct plans to experiment to identify ideal balances of corrosion inhibitors and pH reducers and, if successful, introduce the new treatment into the water system Sept. 1.

In the meantime, the District Health Department advises residents to use cold water when cooking and washing: hot water has a greater lead content. The D.C. Department of Health Web site provides additional information on obtaining free home water filters and bottled water. Mayor Williams has also initiated the mailing of 23,000 water filters to D.C. residents whose homes have lead pipes. WASA recommends flushing water, allowing it to run for 10 minutes to eliminate lead-containing buildup that could contaminate the water.