- Over 100 schools across 17 Delaware districts plus the Charter School of Wilmington have at least one drinking water sample with elevated lead levels.
- About 5% of the over 13,000 samples collected came back with lead levels of 7.5 ppb or higher.
- State officials say 84% of water samples came back undetectable for lead.
Over 100 schools across 17 Delaware districts plus the Charter School of Wilmington had at least one drinking water sample return elevated lead levels, the latest results on the state’s sampling dashboard show.
While few school districts have been left untouched by at least trace amounts of lead, state education officials say Delaware’s infusion of $3.8 million to install filters throughout district schools and charters is the ideal step forward in addressing lead levels in school drinking water.
“We fully expected that the majority of our consumption points would be below 7.5 parts per billion,” state Education Secretary Mark Holodick said. “We didn’t expect for the majority to be undetectable, and that’s why we need to implement a filter-first approach.”
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Delaware established the 7.5 ppb threshold after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency flagged the First State for its botched school water sampling efforts last year. The issues prompted the state to hire a third-party contractor to conduct resampling, which state education associate Jamie Mack said will wrap up in June.
Health experts warn that lead consumption, even at low levels, can be harmful to children, who are most at risk because of their developing bodies and brains. Lead exposure can also be harmful to pregnant women’s unborn babies.
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While most people don’t show immediate signs or symptoms of poisoning, over time lead poisoning can lead to brain and kidney damage along with effects on the blood and vitamin D metabolism. It also can lead to a lower IQ, learning and behavioral problems in children.
What do the results show?
About 5% of samples came back with lead levels at or above 7.5 ppb, with Wallace Wallin Elementary (now known as N3) returning lead levels 720 times the limit at a classroom sink.
Two water fountains at Wilson Elementary returned levels over 150 times the 7.5 ppb limit, with many other samples from the Christina School District elementary school coming back with elevated lead levels, too. At Red Clay’s Austin D. Baltz Elementary School, a kitchen faucet came back with lead levels 586 times the limit.
Colonial, Christina and Red Clay school districts each had more than 100 elevated results.
Thankfully, the retesting did not reveal any new major concerns, Holodick said. While Wallace Wallin is looking at a larger project that will include replacing the main lines into the building, most lead contamination can be blamed on the fixture.
“No school that we’ve tested has a system-wide or building-wide issue. I think that’s important to note,” Holodick said. “In most instances, the results suggest fixture issues.”
The $3.8 million made available for schools to begin installing filters will be allocated based on enrollment, the education secretary said, and is meant to be a “shot of adrenaline” to help districts build on existing investments and couple with minor capital funding.
Schools currently shut off fixtures that come back with elevated lead levels until a more permanent solution can be done.
How Delaware is navigating lead exposure standards
Although 84% of the samples collected have returned undetectable levels of lead, state officials said they’re limited by what the lab is capable of detecting.
The lab’s reporting limit is 2 ppb, but several samples came back with values above the “method detection limit” of 0.6 ppb, indicating that some water sources could have trace amounts of lead.
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State officials say it’s been difficult navigating the waters of lead contamination given what little consensus there is on what should be the maximum lead level in water.
“Depending on the agency, the definition of undetectable or safe in terms of parts per billion, there is not an agreed upon number that I can tell,” Holodick said. “That confuses people.”
While the Lead and Copper Rule establishes a 15 ppb threshold for action to ensure water suppliers provide adequate corrosion control, it is not meant as a public health standard. The rule is currently under review.
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The EPA limits lead levels in bottled water to 5 ppb and has a maximum contaminant level goal of zero, but the former doesn’t impact water from pipes and the latter is not required. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends lead levels not exceed 1 ppb in drinking water.
Dr. Natalie Exum, who was contracted by Delaware to help with lead testing and remediation efforts, said these suggestions do not take into account the realities of how communities deliver water to residents nor the limitations of technology.
“They can develop health-based requirements that they know are in the best interest of human health,” Mack said, “but they are not constrained by the realities of doing a sampling project, conducting the analysis, or some of the other things that we’re faced with.”
Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mandy_fries.
