The Manhasset school district found 10 water fixtures with lead levels above the New York State limit during tests in September and October, said Armand Markarian, the director of school facilities.
The fixtures, which include eight faucets and two combination faucets and drinking fountains, have been shut and will be repaired or replaced.
One of the fixtures was located at Munsey Park Elementary School, four were located at Shelter Rock Elementary School, and five were located at Manhasset Secondary School.
“The state requires us to take action at certain levels of lead,” Markarian said in a presentation last Thursday in the library at Munsey Park Elementary School.
The legal limit for lead is 15 parts per billion, which Markarian noted is a very small amount. The state Department of Health mandates schools instruct students not to drink water at those levels, but it can still be used for hand washing or cleaning.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no known safe blood lead level.
Exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health.
Exposure increases the risks of damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems. Risk varies depending on the individual, the circumstances and the amount of water consumed.
Elevated lead levels that exceed EPA standards were found in June in five schools in the Port Washington School District, but officials said no students or staff members were exposed to high levels of lead.
Manhasset School Superintendent Charles Cardillo told meeting attendees that the Manhasset district “did a remarkable amount of testing” that dates back to last school year.
Over two rounds of testing, the district took a total of 480 samples, approximately 98 percent of which were found to be below the legal limit, Markarian said.
In the first round of testing, which took place at the end of last school year and over the summer, the school tested 90 samples and ensured that all locations tested were below the state limit before the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, Markarian said.
A second round of testing took place in September and October as a result of legislation signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sept. 6, which mandated that all schools in the state undergo rigorous testing by the end of October.
In that round of testing 390 samples were taken, and the 10 water outlets were found to exceed the state lead limit, he said.
The district has spent $32,000 on the sinks and bubblers for testing, repair and replacement parts, he said.
Markarian estimates it will spend $40,000 in total.
Those expenses will include replacement bubblers called Elkay bottle filler refrigerated water fountains, which cost $1,100 each.
“The Elkay water fillers are brilliant because students bring their own water bottles,” said Regina Rule, president of the Manhasset Board of Education.
“We want them drinking as much water as possible.”
