Poland Central School District responding to lead testing results
POLAND – Poland Central School District will be conducting
follow-up testing and developing a remediation plan after receiving the results
on Tuesday, Oct. 18, of its recent lead testing.
On Sept. 6, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new law that requires
public schools in New York to test all water outlets currently or potentially
used for drinking or cooking purposes for lead levels.
In accordance with the law, Poland Central School District conducted
water testing on Sept. 21 with the assistance of the
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Health and Safety Service and a state-approved
independent laboratory, Adirondack Environmental Services Inc.
Of the 157 sources that were tested, the lead level of 35 water
outlets exceeded the state’s action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb). Only
three of the 35 water outlets above the action level were fountains; the other
32 were sinks. About half of the outlets above the action level were from sinks
in three science rooms.
The district took the drinking fountains that exceeded the
limit out of service within hours of receiving the results. The sinks that are
not to be used for drinking water are noted with a sign. All students in the
building still have access to water sources that are under the threshold. Bottled
water will be provided to elementary classrooms that have an in-class fountain
that cannot be used and that don’t have a nearby water fountain.
The district is working closely with the Herkimer BOCES
Health and Safety Office and will consult with the state Department of Health to
develop a remediation plan to ensure that we can continue to provide safe, healthy
drinking water for our students and staff.
Once the remediation plan is developed and implemented and further
testing indicates that lead levels are below the action level, the identified
outlets will be put back in service. The remediation plan also will be posted
online after it is developed.
Water sources that exceeded the state’s action level of 15 ppb include:
- All sinks in the high school science wing.
- All sinks in the middle school 7th-8th grade
science classroom.
- One sink in the home economics classroom.
- Two sinks in the high school student bathrooms.
- Two sinks in the high school art room.
- Four sinks at different locations for
faculty/adult use.
- One sink in the student bathrooms below Pre-K.
- Three drinking fountains in the elementary building.
The safety of students and staff is a priority at Poland
Central School District. Further information including links to resources about
the risks associated with lead can be found here on the district website by clicking
on the “Lead Testing” button under “Quick Links” on the homepage at www.polandcs.org.