Report: Weymouth School Was Among Top Five With Elevated Lead Levels in Water

By ALISON BAUTER and DAN LIBON (Patch Staff)

A Weymouth school was among 20 in Massachusetts districts identified in a new report by The Boston Globe as having tested high for lead levels in the water.

The report, out Monday, covers 293 schools and early education centers across the state. You can find the full list of Patch towns here. In Weymouth, Academy Avenue Primary School was tested, according to the Globe.

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Faucet water at the school tested high at 58 parts per billion, the fifth highest in the report. Abigail Adams Middle School tested 1 part per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends drinking water with lead concentrations of no more than 15 parts per billion.

Weymouth Patch has reached out to the Academy Avenue Primary School for comment and will update this article if they respond. 

While the testing isn't new information, the issue is how widespread the situation has become.

The report builds on an investigative report out Thursday from The Guardian that identified Boston and Worcester among 33 locations around the country that have used water testing "cheats" reminiscent of Flint, Mich. Both cities have since disputed this report.

Now, state data obtained by the Globe shows that a small percentage of schools tested - most in 2014 and 2015 - has unacceptably high levels of lead in the water.

Lead in drinking water is a serious concern, particularly for children. Exposure to unsafe levels has been tied to behavioral issues and lower IQs. The issue has gained heightened attention this past year, following revelations in Flint.

>>> Read the full story from The Boston Globe here.