Report: High Lead in 3 Lexington Schools

LEXINGTON, MA – Hundreds of schools in Massachusetts have water levels that are too high to drink, according to a report just released by the state. Of the almost 2,000 schools that voluntarily had water tested for lead and copper last year, some 600 had at least one test come back with higher than recommended levels for drinking purposes. Lexington appeared to be one of those districts.

"This list summarizes sampling results for lead and copper in drinking water at schools and early education & childcare facilities that have been reported to MassDEP through its electronic data reporting system," reads the report.

How did Lexington fare in the testing? Jonas Clarke Middle School and Minuteman High School tested high for lead and Lexington Children's Place tested high for both lead and copper, according to the summary.

It should be noted that Clarke and Lexington Children's Place are part of Lexington Public Schools and Minuteman is part of the Minuteman Regional School District.

Water testing above the "actionable level" indicates that the concentration is higher than is acceptable by the state's standards. "If lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppb [ 0.015 milligrams per liter] or copper concentrations exceed an action level of 1.3 ppm [or 1.3 mg/L] in more than 10 percent of customer taps sampled, the system must undertake a number of additional actions to control corrosion," according to the EPA guidelines.

In a February letter to families, Minuteman Superintendent Edward Bouquillon attributed the higher than recommended levels to the building's older infrastructure and not from the school's water source. The school took "immediate action," including removing all taps with water above the "action" level, offering bottled water, posting "hand wash only" signs at certain sinks and regularly testing outlets, Bouquillon wrote.

According to Shawn Newell, assistant director of of Public Facilities in Lexington, remedial measures were taken at water outlets in Clarke and the Lexington Children's Place that tested above actionable level. This included replacing a water fountain, removing a sink and labelling a sink in a science room "lab use only." Once retested, the water outlets at all schools tested below the actionable level.

The report did not indicate directly how far above actionable each party went.

The Lexington list:

Lexington Children's Place Both Lead and Copper Above Action Level (addressed)
Bridge Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Bowman Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Joseph Estabrook Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Fiske Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Harrington Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Maria Hastings Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Jonas Clarke Middle Only Lead Above Action Level (addressed)
Wm Diamond Middle Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Lexington High Lead and Copper Below Action Level
Minuteman Regional High Only Lead Above Action Level (addressed)
Technology Children's Center At Lincoln Lab Lead and Copper Below Action Level

Some of the levels found at some of other Massachusetts schools had exceeded levels found in Flint, MI, according to the Boston Globe.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect remedial measures at both Minuteman and the Lexington Public Schools.

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