Morris Superintendent: Tests show elevated lead levels at Sussex Avenue School

the sussex avenue school sign
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By Kevin Coughlin

Two water samples have turned up elevated lead levels at the Sussex Avenue Elementary School in Morris Township.

“Please note these water sources are not used for drinking or food preparation. We turned these water sources off and we will work towards remediation,” Morris School District Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast told Sussex Avenue parents in a message this week.

the sussex avenue school signA similar finding was made at the Hillcrest Elementary School in March.

At the time, that was the only water sample in the Morris School District to exceed the .015 federal threshold for lead contamination.

More test results for Sussex Avenue are anticipated within the next two weeks; all elementary schools in the district will remain on bottled water in the meantime as a precaution,  Pendergrast told parents.

“Water quality is a complex issue and it is important to not oversimplify and rush results or remediation,” Pendergrast wrote on Tuesday.

“The results we have received at Sussex Avenue School are preliminary and they do not represent a final report. We have been providing bottled water to all of our elementary schools and we will continue this practice until we have a complete report. Our final series of enhanced sampling will give us a comprehensive picture.”

Garden State Laboratories reported an .047 concentration of the toxic metal in a sample from a small hallway sink near the library in the Sussex Avenue school.  That sink is not a water fountain, Pendergrast said.

Additionally, an .019 lead level was found in a sample from a sink in the school’s kitchen. This sink is used for utility purposes, not for the preparation of food, the superintendent said.

PRESIDENT, GOVERNOR TALKING LEAD

These local developments come as lead continues to make national news.

President Obama flew to Flint, MI., on Wednesday, for a first-hand look at that city’s lead crisis.

And Gov. Chris Christie this week directed all 3,000 public schools in New Jersey to test for lead, starting in September.  More than 3,000 young children across the state suffer from lead poisoning, mostly from exposure to lead paint in urban areas, according to NJ Spotlight.

 Video: Gov. Christie calls for lead testing in New Jersey schools.

Morristown Medical Center has been using bottled water since very high lead levels were detected in its private system in late February 2016.

The hospital has tested blood lead levels of more than 2,000 people; only two adults showed elevated levels, said spokeswoman Elaine Andrecovich.

“Thorough risk assessments confirmed these elevated levels were was due to previous environmental exposure,” Andrecovich said.

Pregnant mothers, infants and young children are most susceptible to lead’s harmful effects, according to health officials.

Too much lead from drinking water and other sources “can cause damage to the brain and kidneys, and can interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of your body,” Morristown Medical Center said in a federally mandated notice it issued to those deemed at risk.

Water contamination often is caused by lead solder on old copper pipes. Such uses of lead were banned in the 1980s.

After receiving initial sampling results for all 10 schools in the Morris district back in March, Pendergrast announced plans to test water from every source “where students, parents, or faculty might possibly obtain drinking water.”

 

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