Lead alarm at S.F. schools
High levels of toxic metal found in water at 3 sites
Water samples from taps and drinking fountains at three San Francisco public schools contained elevated levels of lead, potentially exposing students to the toxic metal, district officials said Wednesday.
District officials immediately shut down the taps and this week notified parents at West Portal and Malcolm X elementary schools and San Francisco International High School that water samples from at least one faucet or fountain at each site were too high — or above the recommended federal threshold of 15 parts per billion.
“We’re letting people know as much information as quickly as possible,” said Superintendent Vince Matthews, adding that the district is conducting additional tests at the three schools and providing bottled water.
The water flowing into the school is safe, officials say. The lead is in the plumbing — the fixtures and pipe solders — and leaches into the water.
Lead is a toxic metal, and exposure even in low levels can harm children’s health, possibly damaging the brain and nervous system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Yet the three San Francisco sites are among a growing list of schools across the state posting high levels of lead flowing out of faucets.
Prompted at least in part by the water crisis in Flint, Mich., where corrosion of pipes led to leaching of lead into the city water supply, California officials have pushed for testing,
especially in schools.
A voluntary testing program launched in January prompted 1,600 schools across the state to request lead testing from their water providers. Of the 1,100 that received results as of early October, 35 posted high levels of lead, including schools in the Jefferson Elementary School District in San Mateo County and the St. Helena Unified District in Napa County as well as the California School for the Blind in Fremont, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.
San Francisco schools, with the city’s water provider, the Public Utilities Commission, have tested 72 out of 124 sites so far, with just the three showing levels above the threshold.
The district on Wednesday released a list of the schools that were tested and that showed no elevated levels of lead. It also released a list of schools that will be tested. (Readers can go to the district’s website to see the lists at tinyurl.com/y79th9dr)
“We’re interested in having these tests done as soon as possible,” said San Francisco Deputy Superintendent Myong Leigh, adding he hopes few of the remaining schools will show high lead levels. “If there’s a fixture to replace, or pipe replacement or repair, that absolutely is going to be the No. 1 priority.”
The state list, however, is likely to get a lot longer. A new state law signed by the governor this month requires all schools to test for lead in the water by mid-2019.
Whether the list of schools with high levels of lead will grow significantly remains to be seen, but statewide testing is key, said Jason Pfeifle, public health advocate for CalPIRG, a consumer advocate group.
“The public should have this information about whether there’s lead in drinking water,” he said. “Parents have a right to know about this.”
After concerns were raised last school year about lead in the water at McClymond’s High School, Oakland Unified officials started conducting lead tests if school officials requested it. The city found high levels of the toxic metal at seven of the 47 sites tested.
Oakland drew samples from all the drinking sources at the sites.
“We’re testing all drinking fountains, the fixtures in the kitchen,” said Rebecca Littlejohn, Oakland Unified risk management officer. “We’re being very thorough.”
The state’s voluntary program suggests sample tests of only five faucets or fountains at each site.
In Oakland, the district has also initiated the official testing process with the East Bay Municipal Utility District. It was unclear Wednesday if parents had been informed about the initial test results.
Parents who have received a letter about high levels of lead are understandably going to be concerned, said Anisha Patel, associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford University and an expert on water use and safety in schools.
“If this was my daughter’s school and there was lead in the water, my question to her would be, ‘Were you drinking from that fountain?’ ” Patel said. “In schools, we find students aren’t using fountains that much.”
It’s all about risk assessment, she said.
“If your child is filling up five water bottles from (an identified) drinking fountain,” she said, “maybe you talk to your pediatrician about it.”
To reduce exposure to lead in water, experts recommend running the water to flush the system and remove any lead that has leached into water that sits in pipes overnight, for example, or replacing plumbing.
“Especially in the morning, after the water has sat in the fountain overnight and had the chance to absorb lead if it’s there, they should let water flush through,” said Charlotte Smith, faculty member for the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. “That’s when we really see the problem — when the water has sat for an extended period of time.”
Because lead is more likely to leach into hot water, experts advise using cold tap water in food preparation
Children can also be exposed to lead through paint and dust.
Yet over the past two decades, lead exposure in children has been dramatically reduced because of the phaseout of leaded gasoline and lead-based paint, as well as bans on lead in food containers and other consumer items.
In 2000, about 2 percent of children ages 1 to 5 had high levels of lead, down from 88 percent in 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Still, there is no safe level of lead, experts say.
“Lead is silent, so you’re not going to get physical symptoms,” Patel said. “If parents are concerned they can talk to their physicians.”