October 2004
As MCCPTA Safety
Committee Chair, I have been following the lead in water issue on behalf of MCCPTA. (I have posted several updates on the list-serve
and in the president's letter.) I agree
that the latest results that were published this week look alarming. But if you look at the last column on the
table of readings for the schools, the results look less alarming. (The last column is new on this round of results,
so you need to look a the Oct release. For you conspiracy theorists out there,
the column was added at my suggestion, not MCPS's, because I thought it would
give parents more useful information.)
The last column shows highest reading in each school (in parts per
billion) of "water coolers."
"Water coolers" is what MCPS calls the hallway water fountains
- so called because they actually have refrigeration tanks. You will notice that only one school had any
water fountains that had a reading above the EPA "action level" of 20
parts per billion, and that was a reading of 30 parts per billion. Most of the hallway water fountains have
readings in the single digits. This is
because there was a lead scare in 1989, and at the time MCPS replaced all the hallway
water fountains. So there is no need to
go around turning off water fountains because of lead.
As to the high readings (some unbelievably so) that show
up in the other columns on that MCPS press release: I have spoken several times
with the MCPS officials who are working on this (Director of Facilities and an environmental
safety officer). They claim that almost
all of those triple-and-above digit readings come from spigots in the janitors'
closets or the hose bibs. (Janitors' closets
probably shouldn't be of concern; hose bibs might be because I have heard anecdotally
that some student athletes use them during football practice and the
like...note this is not "early childhood", but still a matter of
concern.)
The principals in all schools for whom test results have
been reported have been given lists of readings for each outlet in the
school. Concerned parents should
request their principals to provide them with information as which outlets
actually are above the EPA action level, and ask whether they have been shut
off. Principals have been generally
instructed to shut above action level
units off, although I didn't ask
specifically about the janitors' closets and hose bibs. They have also been instructed to keep
flushing the other units (with the
readings within acceptable ranges), just to be on the safe side
until they are sure this is not an
issue with the pipes.
Montgomery County is different from the District because there has been no evidence, based on testing so far, that the lead is coming from lead leader lines (from the large water system to the school) that would (a) create higher exposures and (b) create those exposures throughout the school from most fixtures.
It is true that no general remediation plan has yet been
formulated, and I agree that the time frame for completing the testing has been
unreasonably long. MCPS is working with
WSSC, the Montgomery County Dept of Environmental Safety, the County Health
Officer, and EPA on the testing and
remediation plans. All of this is under
the direction of the County Health Officer.
One problem we have as advocates is that they are following prescribed
procedure by EPA. The MCCPTA Safety
Committee is fortunate to have as members (one full-fledged, one consulting),
two environmental scientists, both with engineering backgrounds. We have met with all the officials involved,
studied the EPA guidelines, and had a
long conference call with the EPA regulator (well before recent news reports questioning EPA's role in this in
other cities). We questioned at the
time the adequacy of the EPA protocols for flushing and testing. But, particularly with threats of lawsuits looming
over officials' heads, all the County officials (including MCPS) involved
are ticking religiously to whatever EPA
tells them is required in this
situation.
The reason the whole process is taking so long is that
MCPS et.al. are actually trying to
develop a systemic diagnosis and response, rather than approach the problem with band-aids. Because early in my own PTA involvement I
was quite active in Indoor Air Quality issues, I have been following closely
MCPS's response to environmental hazards, and I can
tell you that taking a careful, diagnostic and systemic
approach to this issue is light-years
ahead of where MCPS was 5 years ago.
While I chafe with everyone at the slow pace, I would urge people not to
start demanding band-aids that will not
solve the problem. For example, filters
might sound good, but they are only as good as their change schedule...and the experience on that both
with air filters in the HVAC systems
Countywide, and on water faucets at Seneca Valley HS, where a lead problem was identified several years
ago, is mixed. The building service
staffs are just not adequate to change filters often enough to make them
safe. Because of the way the water
filters work, when they become filled with lead (and copper, also toxic in high
doses, but less likely to leach, so less of a serious problem), they don't look
dirty, or clogged; they just form channels that essentially let the water
go through unfiltered). In addition, filters can be sites of
bacterial growth. Since the hallway
water fountains are not having high readings,
we shouldn't ask for them to be turned off, filtered, or replaced.
One frustration we on the Safety Committee have faced is
that the technical working group (with representatives from all those agencies
I listed earlier in this update) refuses to allow a parent representative. If one of our environmental scientists
could attend, we would have a better handle on progress and procedures for you.
All of that said, we need to bear a couple things in mind:
1. U.S.
Environmental regs did not outlaw lead in plumbing solder until 1986, or lead in fixtures until 1996; no
doubt the water to which we adults have
been exposed all our lives had higher lead readings than what our kids our getting. Also, those of us
who live in older homes probably have
more of a lead problem at home than in school.
2. All pre-school age kids are required to get tested for
lead. Very few in Montgomery County have shown lead toxicity, and that
toxicity has been traced to non-water
causes. Of course this does not speak
to what the kids are getting in
school. But it can reassure us that the
WSSC system is probably not delivering
leaded water, thus giving us a higher starting
baseline for lead exposure. The
20 ppb. action level is based on
assuming all liquid intake is above that level.
3. I am told by the County Health Officer that very few
(if any) of the school-aged kids tested
in D.C., where lead in water readings are
generally higher than here, are testing positive for lead in blood.
(But perhaps the Hennesseys have more
info on that).
I would encourage PTA's to lobby for three things:
1. quicker completion of the testing and remediation plan;
2. adequate funding in THIS year's school operating and
capital budget to speed up the testing
and complete the remediation;
3. parent representation on the technical working group.
And, again, I urge all concerned to ask your principal to
make available to you the list of which
outlets in his/her school have above action
level readings, and what they are doing about that. Also, please notify me if you are not getting cooperation. I find it most effective to be able to present MCPS officials with lists/evidence
when there is a problem.
I wanted to add one more thought about the issue of
massive turning off of water fixtures in schools. We are approaching flu season with a dearth of flu vaccines. Public Health officials have advised us that
the single most useful thing that can be done to avoid a flu epidemic is for
everyone to wash hands frequently. The
MCCPTA health committee chair has had posted on the MCCPTA bulletin list some
information sheets from public health officials on this topic.
The risk of lead
toxicity from the amount of lead exposure children are likely to get from
washing their hands, or even taking a quick gulp from a bathroom water faucet,
even assuming the bathroom water faucet hasn't been flushed (which it should
have been), pales compared to the risk of serious flu-related illness from the
kids not being able to wash their hands.