Lead tests: Mount Vernon shuts off 39 school faucets
Testing took place between May 28 to June 22, during which time 2,501 samples were taken.
MOUNT VERNON - The city school district has shut down 39 "high-priority" drinking-water fixtures after they tested above federal limits for lead, it announced Friday.
Another 173 "medium-priority" non-drinking-water faucets that tested above 15 parts per billion, the threshold for unsafe lead levels in water sources set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have been labeled with signs advising students and staff to use only for hand-washing.
The district labeled the high-priority faucets as those used for drinking, like water fountains and faucets in teacher's lounges. The medium-priority faucets are mostly in sinks typically used for washing, like in science labs or bathrooms.
High-priority faucets will be removed or replaced before school opens Sept. 6, according to the district's statement.
LEAD IN WATER FOUNTAINS: What schools are doing
CONFUSED?: What you need to know about lead in schools
YONKERS: Defends decision to withhold school lead results
"With recent news events, the district felt it was necessary to proactively conduct this voluntary testing,” said Superintendent Kenneth Hamilton. “Now, we are taking corrective measures to ensure that everyone has access to safe water and does not drink from sources that are not meant for drinking.”
Testing took place between May 28 and June 22, during which time 2,501 samples were taken. New Jersey-based Environmental Safety Management Corporation and Eisenbach & Ruhnke Engineering P.C. of New York were hired to do the testing, costing the district $138,500.
Mount Vernon High School had the highest number of fixtures test above federal lead limits with 14 high-priority faucets shut down, and 72 medium-priority faucets requiring signs. The highest measurement of lead in the district’s samples was found at Hamilton Elementary School from a non-drinking water area.
Grimes and Columbus elementary school had no samples test above 15 ppb.
Mount Vernon is the latest school district in the area to release its voluntary lead testing findings. Many systems, including New Rochelle, Yonkers and Clarkstown, opted to test water for lead after what happened in Newark, NJ and Flint, MI.
BRIARCLIFF MANOR: High lead levels found in Briarcliff schools’ water
NEW ROCHELLE: All of Davis School’s drinking water cut off due to lead
CLARKSTOWN: Lead found in dozens of sinks, fountains
New York was the first state in the country to pass legislation requiring schools to do routine lead testing. The state Legislature passed the measure in June at the end of the legislative session. Gov. Andrew Cuomo was expected to sign it. The law would also provide some state aid for the cost of testing and remediation.
The Mount Vernon school district posted the results for its 16 schools on its website.