NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Elevated levels of lead caused officials in New Jersey’s largest school district on Wednesday to shut off water fountains at 30 school buildings until more tests are conducted, officials said.
Newark Public Schools notified the state Department of Environmental Protection on Monday that annual testing found levels ranging from non-detected to above the Environmental Protection Agency’s action level for lead, which is 15 parts per billion. That level requires additional testing, monitoring and remediation.
The DEP has requested test results from previous years to be able to do a complete analysis. No building had more than four samples above the action level, the DEP said in a statement.
The DEP confirmed lead has not been found in the city’s water supply. “In the vast majority of cases where lead is found in drinking water, it enters through the water delivery system itself when it leaches from either lead pipes, household fixtures containing lead or lead solder,” the DEP said.
Notices have been posted and bottled water and water coolers have been delivered to the buildings in Newark.