Is There Lead In The Water At Philadelphia Public Schools? District Demands Answers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City Council today holds a hearing on lead in the water at day care centers and schools. The school district Tuesday night said it was speeding up its lead testing.
The school district has found elevated lead levels in 56 water outlets, eight percent of them, in the first 40 schools tested since June. Now, the district is shortening its testing timeline for the remaining schools, says environmental director Francine Locke.
"We're accelerating our testing program, so that we will have all of the data by June 2017."
That's six months earlier than planned. Water outlets with lead levels above 15 parts per billion, that's more stringent than federal guidelines of 20 PPB, are taken out of service while the district investigates the source of the lead and caps or replaces the outlet.
Locke said the district is expanding its testing in the second phase.
"We're going to be testing nurses' offices, kitchen cold water sinks and culinary arts classrooms, as well as autistic support classrooms and other classrooms where children are drinking the water."
