JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (AP) - Officials say drinking water has exceeded state-accepted lead levels at two elementary schools in one Tennessee county.
News outlets report that water fountains where lead testing came back positive at the Washington County schools have been removed. Schools Director Bill Flanary says he received the independent laboratory results Thursday morning and water to the schools was cut off within three hours.
Flanary says the traces of lead were found at Boones Creek Elementary and West View Elementary. He says the school system's maintenance crew is determined to find the lead's source.
Parents were notified immediately digitally and through letters sent home with students. State law requires schools to remove the source and tell parents within five days.
The chemical element is a toxin that can cause brain damage and behavioral problems.