District to test 53 schools for lead in drinking water

Hamilton County Schools will test 53 of its schools for lead in drinking water this summer, starting May 26.

All schools built before 1998 will be tested during this first phase. Schools built after 1998 — though it is not required by law — will be tested in a second phase.

“There are 53 schools in that first phase, and we will be able to get those all done this summer, so we’re going to give ourselves time so that we can test it, and if there’s an issue we can remediate it and retest before kids come back to school,” said Justin Robertson,

chief operations officer for the district, during a school board meeting Monday night. “Phase two will get started after that. … We are not required to do that by law, but we thought it was the right step to take.”

The Tennessee Legislature passed a law in May 2018 requiring school districts to test for lead in drinking water sources in schools constructed before Jan. 1, 1998. The legislation took effect Jan. 1, 2019, and school districts were given until the end of the 2020-21 school year to create policies and begin testing.

Tennessee law is less stringent than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s national guidance. If results of lead testing in a school are equal to or greater than 20 parts per billion, the school will be required to remove that drinking water source from service, remediate the problem and retest until the lead levels test under 20 parts per billion, per Tennessee state law.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA sets safe levels of lead in drinking water at 15 parts per billion, which is the guidance that Hamilton County Schools plans to follow, Robertson noted Monday.

“There is some disparity between what the state recommends and what the EPA recommends, the EPA has more of a stringent standard … so we are going to run with 15 parts per billion instead of the 20 required by the state,” Robertson said.

Lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, slow growth, learning, behavioral, hearing and speech problems in children.

In recent years, local public health officials have been concerned about the impact elevated lead levels across Chattanooga’s Southside Lead Superfund Site — an area listed among the nation’s most toxic places — will have on children.

Lead is present in the soil at the Southside site, and exposure to lead through soil, paint and drinking water is a concern for children.

Hamilton County Schools has set up a website with an interactive map where parents can see what schools will be tested this summer as well as the results of the water quality test after it has been conducted.