NEWS

Lansing School District won't share lead test specifics

The district released readings for Sexton High School, but not four other buildings where high lead levels were found

Ken Palmer, and RJ Wolcott
Lansing

LANSING - One day after acknowledging water tests showed elevated levels of lead in five district buildings, school officials said the lead levels recorded in four of the buildings were not available.

On Tuesday, the district said in a news release one water source within J.W. Sexton High School recorded 0.016 milligrams per liter, slightly higher than the federal action level of 0.015 mg/l.

Samples collected from the Wainwright, Woodcreek, Mt. Hope and Grand River buildings also exceeded federal standards, although the exact numbers were not available Wednesday, said Teresa Szymanski, the district's chief operations manager.

  • Story continues below press release

A lack of a written report from Triterra, the local environmental company contracted to do the testing, was cited as the reason the lead readings were not available. District staff were told higher-than-allowable levels were discovered in these buildings, and staff worked to correct issues as they were reported, she said.

The district described those levels in a press release as "fractionally above EPA levels."

A letter from Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul was posted on the school district's websites Tuesday evening. Robocalls and push alerts to app users also went out to parents within the district, and some students were also sent home with physical copies of the letter Tuesday, said district spokesman Bob Kolt. The letter discussed precautions the district took to address the higher-than-allowable levels of lead observed.

The fact that elevated lead levels were found was not acknowledged in the letter.

“The bottom-line: the water quality in Lansing schools is good and “lead safe” for our children,” Caamal Canul wrote.

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Caamal Canul added that the district flushed water lines, changed some plumbing fixtures and removed others after a contractor tested samples from all of the district's more than 30 buildings, officials said.

"We did need to take minor action in a few very limited locations, but children were never in danger and the actionable items were not critical," Caamal Canul wrote. "Overall, the water results are good news for Lansing students, parents and staff."

It's not clear how long high lead levels may have been present in the district. The district's last extensive testing of the water in its buildings was in 2004.

Sexton’s higher-than-allowable sample was drawn from a site near a little-used bypass line in the basement, officials said.

The district removed a total of 11 fountains and replaced three of them, Szymanski said, adding that some of the fixtures were in areas that weren't being used. All of the replaced fountains and faucets were in locations "not often used by students," Kolt said in an email Wednesday afternoon.

A call to Caamal Canul was referred to Kolt. He could not be reached by phone, and in an email responding to questions from the State Journal, he did not address the issue of why the letter to parents did not mention the high levels of lead.

Testing prompted in part by Flint water crisis

The district hired Triterra to test the water in its buildings at least partly in reaction to the Flint water crisis, officials said. The testing began on Jan. 22, and results were reviewed within 24 hours "so any actionable issues could be quickly addressed," according to the release.

About $20,000 in repairs were completed to district buildings in recent days.

In an interview Tuesday, Caamal Canul said the plumbing fixtures were replaced over the weekend and the lines flushed. All of those sites "came back clean" in subsequent tests, she said.

“The Lansing School District took action to immediately to address any actionable items,” Kolt wrote in an email Wednesday.

The Lansing Board of Water and Light, which supplies water to the district, said there are no lead service lines leading into school buildings. District officials noted that lead can leach into water at fixtures or pipes joined by lead solder that are not regularly used or flushed.

"That's the problem," Szymanski said. "They don't run the water. Even in homes, they encourage you to run the water for a couple of minutes (before you use it)."

Szymanski said Wednesday there are no lead pipes in any district building.

Caamal Canul said she'll recommend the district test the water in all of its buildings every two years. Testing will be done quarterly at the sites where elevated lead levels were found, she said. There is no state or federal mandate for testing for schools that get water from municipal water systems.

Lead can cause serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells and is known to impair learning and behavior, particularly in children. The EPA has set allowable levels for lead in water at 0.015 milligrams per liter.

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.  Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.