High Lead Levels in 3 Middletown Schools

Middletown, NJ - Elevated level of lead have been found in three Middletown Township public schools, the school district announced in a letter posted on the district website Thursday, May 19.

High lead levels were found in:

Bayshore Middle School, kitchen sink (sink was unused at the time of testing)

River Plaza Elementary School, water fountain on first floor

Thorne Middle School, sink in faculty room

The water has been shut off to those three locations, said Superintendent Dr. William George. A water bottle refilling station has replaced the water fountain at River Plaza.

Following high lead concerns nationally in schools, Middletown school district hired an independent laboratory, RK Occupational and Environmental Analysis, to test the water from every water fountain and kitchen sink district-wide. Testers were specifically looking for lead and copper levels.

"RK reported that generally, the results are excellent," said Dr. George in the letter, which can be found here. "In total, they collected and tested water from 212 water sources in our schools."

However, three of those 212 test sites did come back higher than standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Copper levels were low overall, he said.

However, some parents say the school district should do more than just post a letter online.

“The children that went through those schools should have gotten a letter sent home," Virna Broderick told the Asbury Park Press. Her two children, ages 13 and 12, spent years drinking the water when they attended River Plaza Elementary, she said.

However, the outside company, RK Analysis, said, “There are no significant concerns with the drinking water quality as it relates to lead or copper within the district.”

If you would like your child tested for lead poisoning, contact the Middletown Township Health Department at 732-615-2095. They will provide screening through the county, free of charge, until June 30th when the grant expires.

The mostly likely cause for those three elevated results is sediment in the pipes and/or infrequent usage, Dr. George said. He said the district is in the process of cleaning the screens and flushing the water outlets in those three spots, and will have the three retested next week.