WASHINGTON — The District is done testing children for elevated lead levels in response to lead being detected in 17 water sources at 12 city schools.
Officials say negative results for 94 children tested Wednesday suggest there is no widespread problem.
“No one came back with an elevated blood level,” said Tommy Wells, director of the Department of Energy & Environment.
The department is now in charge of the response to issues involving lead and water tests in D.C. schools. The city’s Department of General Services, as the landlord of city schools, is responsible for conducting the tests.
“We are overseeing the testing of the water at all the schools to be sure it’s being tested correctly, and so that we can feel sure the results are reliable,” Wells said.
The elevated lead levels that recently became public were a result of spot checks conducted last year.
New protocols in place will assure tests for lead are conducted on every source of ingestible water in every city school, and that tainted sources are turned off and repaired, or filtered.
Wells said results of searchable, historical data is preserved on every source of ingestible water.
“There had been … some historical data retention issues to know which schools had some source that had tested high before,” Wells said. “I believe they’re using a good system now. In the past, maybe not as good.”
Every water source that is tested now will be labeled with a bar code. And test results will be posted online for every school.
When the elevated lead levels in city schools became public knowledge, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered tests be conducted in every school and recreation center before June 17, when summer camp starts. Wells thinks contractors are making sufficient progress to meet that deadline.
If test results indicate there are elevated levels of lead anywhere, Wells is confident there now will be an appropriate response.
“We’re going to go back behind them and determine they follow the right protocols,” Well said. “We’re auditing their work.”
In late June, the D.C. City Council’s Education Committee and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment will hold a joint public hearing on the test results and city response.
