Hillsboro Schools Completes Lead Testing - Most Locations Fine

Hillsboro Schools have completed lead testing in school buildings and the district says the results were generally very good. The district pulled more than 6,000 samples from more than 3,500 outlets and only found 22 outlets that required further testing.

The district began testing all potential sources of drinking water in the district in early spring of this year - including faucets, drinking fountains, exterior hose bibs, and shower heads - after the Portland School District was roiled by reports of high levels of lead in many schools.

The district's environmental safety contractor, PBS, conducted all of the sampling following the Oregon Health Authority's (OHA) guidance and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 3Ts technical guidance on reducing lead in drinking water in schools.

The testing consisted of a first draw sample (water that has been sitting in the pipe between 8 and 18 hours) and a follow-up 30-second flush test. All samples collected are considered part of the test.

The district says that out of more than 6,000 samples collected from over 3,500 outlets across the district, 299 showed initially high results and just 22 of those were "double positives," where both the first draw and flush samples were above the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recommended action level of 20 parts per billion (ppb).

Locations of the double positive results are as follows:

* Farmington View Elementary School -- East baseball field drinking fountain behind backstop (25.4 ppb)

* Indian Hills Elementary School -- Gym storage area sink (68.2 ppb)

* McKinney Elementary School -- Instructional materials center, center sink faucet (21 ppb)

* Mooberry Elementary School -- Exterior hose bib, north wall near west end of building (25.7 ppb)

* Brown Middle School -- Showerhead in girls locker room (28.8 ppb); drinking fountain in girls locker room (26.8 ppb); drinking fountain in boys locker room (36.4 ppb); boiler room sink (48.9 ppb); drinking fountain in student store (25.9 ppb); science room Y2, sink 6, cold only faucet (85.7 ppb)

* Evergreen Middle School -- Science room 23, sink 7 (20.4 ppb); science room 24, sink 6 (579 ppb); room 38 sink (38.4 ppb); room 14, LRC, sink (44.4 ppb)

* Poynter Middle School -- Storage room between rooms 25 and 26, sink (20.2 ppb); room 25, sink 4 (22.7 ppb)

* Miller Education Center West -- Main building, science room 119, hand wash sink at restroom (143 ppb)

* Hilhi -- Math/Science room 11, lab sink #7 (27.4 ppb); exterior hose bib, east side of Social Studies building (23 ppb); exterior hose bib, west side of Language Arts building (34 ppb); exterior hose bib, north side of Drama & Arts building (26 ppb); exterior hose bib, north side of Health Education/Gym (81 ppb)

The district added that there were nine of the first draw samples with lead content above the action level for which no flush sample was taken, due to the age of the building and/or location of the outlets: two exterior hose bibs at Imlay Elementary School; a mop sink at Orenco Elementary School; a kitchen fill spigot at Patterson Elementary School; and two kitchen faucets, a science room lab sink, a sink faucet in the second floor women's restroom, and an exterior hose bib at Liberty High School. The fixtures at these locations will be replaced and the water from them will be resampled; only when testing shows results below the EPA's action level will those outlets be returned to service as possible sources of drinking water.

As results have come in for each school, they have been communicated to staff, students, and families via website postings, e-mail communications, and automated phone calls, according to the district. They have also posted a spreadsheet of final results on the Environmental Testing page of their website.

Working in collaboration with our School-based Health Center at Century High School, the District will cover the cost of lead testing for any student or staff member who fears they may have consumed a large quantity of water from one of the outlets that tested above the EPA's recommended action level, particularly those with a "double positive" result. Please contact the School-based Health Center directly for more information or to schedule an appointment (503-597-4580).

The district says that the next steps are to complete fixture replacements, investigate those locations where the flush test results were above the action level, and retest indicated outlets, as well as to determine a schedule for follow-up testing over the coming years.