Lead Exposure in BPS Water Hearing Tonight

A hearing is scheduled tonight in response to the recent lead exposure at four schools in the Boston Public Schools system and the ongoing issues faced in providing safe and health water to students.

City councilors Annissa Essaibi-George, Ayanna Pressley and Andrea Campbell, Superintendent Tommy Chang, BPS Chief Operating Officer Kim Rice and representatives from Boston Water & Sewer and Boston Medical Center's Lead Clinic will present their findings and hear public testimony at the meeting.

Earlier this month, it was reported that two BPS staffers were placed on leave after students at four schools may have been accidentally exposed to contaminated water and city councilors pushed for fountains to be shut off citywide until testing was completed.

The schools with elevated lead levels where students may have accessed fountains were Curley K-8 in Jamaica Plain, Another Course to College in Brighton, Lee K-8 in Boston, and Mather Elementary in Dorchester, according to the Boston Globe.

A total of nine schools tested were discovered to have higher-than-recommended lead levels in their drinking fountains; the Environmental Protection Agency recommends drinking water with lead concentrations of no more than 15 parts per billion.

"The City of Boston has a moral obligation to the health and well-being of our school children, a fiduciary responsibility to find the lowest cost options for bringing water into our schools, and an environmental responsibility to use the most sustainable resources," a press release announcing the hearing stated.

The public hearing will be held tonight at 5 p.m. at the Boston English School, 144 McBride St. in Jamaica Plain.

Photo courtesy of Rishabh Mishra via Flickr