High Lead Levels in Classroom Sink at Arlington Heights Catholic School

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — A Catholic school in Arlington Heights is among 56 Chicago-area Catholic elementary and high schools that were found to have unacceptable lead levels in their water, according to a report by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Our Lady of the Wayside School, 432 S. Mitchell Ave., had a classroom sink test at a lead level of 22.1 parts per billion, said Anne Maselli, director of communications for the Archdiocese. The Environmental Protection Agency requires action to be taken on any water outlets with lead concentrations greater than 15 parts per billion.

In all cases, the problem outlets have been removed, the Archdiocese said in a statement. The testing also did not uncover any school-wide or system-wide water quality issues. In schools that had unacceptable lead levels in the water, only one to four water outlets or fixtures were affected.

Maselli did not know Our Lady of the Wayside's exact course of action concering the sink. The school could fix it or have a filtration system added and then retest the sink's lead levels before putting it back online, she said. But the sink also could be kept out of service, she added.

Parents who want to read the Archdiocese's report or have questions concerning the lead testing should contact the principal at their school, Maselli said.

Along with Our Lady of the Wayside School, St. Theresa and St. Thomas of Villanova schools in Palatine, and St. Colette School in Rolling Meadows had one water fixture each with lead concentrations greater than the federal level.

RELATED: 56 Chicago-Area Catholic Schools Show High Lead Levels in Water

“The safety and well-being of our students is our most important priority, so it was important that the Archdiocese complete this testing” said Dr. Jim Rigg, Superintendent of Catholic Schools. “We are glad to see a high majority of or schools did not have any water issues identified.”

The Archdiocese of Chicago spearheaded the school water testing after high lead levels were discovered in cities, such Flint, Mich. School officials worked with an environmental consulting firm to test drinking fountains and other water fixtures in the Archdiocese's 180 schools throughout July, August and September.

The water samples were sent to an independent laboratory for analysis. If a water outlet tested above the EPA’s action level for lead, the Archdiocese immediately worked with the schools to put the affected outlet out of service until the issue was fixed.

Patch editor Amie Rowland contributed to this story.

photo via Pixabay

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