McNary High tap tests at 50 times action level for lead
Water from a classroom sink at McNary High School contains lead at 800 parts per billion – more than 50 times higher than the Salem-Keizer School District’s “action level.”
The district found lead in at least one tap in five additional schools over the past week, bringing the total to 13 of 25 schools where testing has been completed.
In June, state health and education officials asked Oregon school districts to test all taps used for cooking or drinking, in response to the Flint crisis, where the entire community was poisoned by lead in drinking water, and to concerning results found at some Portland schools.
There is no safe level of lead, and experts say health effects can occur at levels as low as 5 ppb. The EPA recommends taking action, such shutting off taps or replacing fixtures, at 20 parts per billion. Most Oregon school districts, including Salem-Keizer, are using a stricter standard of 15 ppb.
The Salem-Keizer School District finished collecting samples from taps at all 88 schools and administrative buildings on Aug. 13. The district also is testing for copper levels.
So far, it has results back for just over a quarter of those.
The highest level found so far was at Pringle Elementary, which had 13 taps high in lead, one of them at 14,000 parts per billion, a level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers toxic waste. Pringle had three other extremely high results, at 1,200 ppb, 900 ppb and 800 ppb.
Salem-Keizer schools that have received their results with all taps under the action levels of 15 ppb for lead or 1.3 ppm for copper are:
- Brush College Elementary School
- Bush Elementary School
- Candalaria Elementary School
- Harritt Elementary School
- Kalapuya Elementary School
- Miller Elementary School
- Morningside Elementary School
- Weddle Elementary School
- Houck Middle School
- Parrish Middle School (four taps were not sampled because they were out of service)
- Stephens Middle School (three taps were not sampled because they were out of service)
- Whiteaker Middle School (four taps were not sampled because they were out of service)
Schools that have received results with at least one tap high for lead or copper are:
- Auburn Elementary School
- Chavez Elementary School
- Forest Ridge Elementary School
- Keizer Elementary School
- Pringle Elementary School
- Sumpter Elementary School
- Wright Elementary School
- Claggett Creek Middle School
- Crossler Middle School
- Judson Middle School
- McKay High School
- McNary High School
- Sprague High School
The district has shut off water to all of the taps with high lead levels. Analyses of additional samples taken after water was allowed to flow through fixtures for 30-60 seconds will help determine whether the problem lies with the fixture itself or the plumbing behind it.
None of those second-sample results are back yet, district spokesman Jay Remy said.
Test results are being posted as they are received on the district’s web site at http://www.salemkeizer.org/parents/water-testing-information.
tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew
Pringle Elementary tap tests above EPA toxic waste level