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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2004 |
CONTACT: VERA JACKSON (202) 442-9194 BRIANT COLEMAN, M.A. (202) 671-0701 |
(Washington, DC) - Today, the District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH), in conjunction with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), announced that free blood lead screenings are being offered to students at 29 DC public schools. This announcement comes after water sample tests conducted by WASA identified approximately 29 schools with elevated levels of lead in some of their water fixtures.
"Out of an abundance of caution, DOH is offering blood lead screenings to children under the age of 6 years old at each of the 29 schools with elevated levels of lead," stated interim Chief Medical Officer Daniel R. Lucey, M.D., M.P.H. "As we implement these safeguards, we are seeking to work with parents. We are asking parents to complete and return the DOH consent form that we are providing before a child can be tested. We will do everything in our power to ensure the health and safety of our children."
Health officials stated that if screenings reveal elevated blood lead levels in a young child under the age of 6 years old, the DOH will offer an inspection of the child’s home to look for other sources of lead. Inspections will help to identify lead hazards, which include lead-based paint. "We anticipate screenings to begin next week," said Dr. Lucey.
Representatives from the DOH, WASA, and DCPS worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the most effective protocol for sampling the water outlets in the public schools that served the target population of children under the age of six in Head Start, Pre-K, and Kindergarten programs.
Below are the findings from the school sampling program.
This report presents the results of 1,976 water samples tested representing 130 school facilities.
Approximately 4% of the fixtures show first and/or second draw results above the action level of 20 ppb.
If you would like additional information or have questions and/or concerns relating to lead, for blood screenings questions, please contact the DOH at 202-671-0733 (8:15 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. weekdays) or for water testing questions, please contact WASA lead hotline at 202-787-2732 (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekends). You may also send an e-mail to leadinfo@dchealth.com.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
Department of Health
825 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 442-5999 FAX
(202) 442-4788
Office of the Director
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Dear Parents and Guardians:
This letter serves as an update on the current lead issue in the District of Columbia and the steps taken by the District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH).
Recently, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) identified your child’s school as one of approximately 29 with elevated levels of lead in the drinking water. Out of an abundance of caution, DOH would like to screen your child’s blood for lead. If your child’s blood lead level is elevated, DOH will arrange to offer an inspection of your home to identify all lead hazards including lead based paint.
We are taking these steps to safeguard your child from the harmful affects of lead. Please complete and return the enclosed consent form by Tuesday, May 4, 2004. In order for DOH to screen your child, you must sign the consent form. Screenings are scheduled to begin next week. Results will be mailed to the residence listed on the consent form eight to ten days after the screening has been completed.
If you would like additional information or have questions and/or concerns relating to lead in our water, please contact the DOH at 202-671-0733 (8:15 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. weekdays) or WASA lead hotline at 202-787-2732 (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekends). You may also send an e-mail to leadinfo@dchealth.com.
Please know that we will continue to take the necessary precautions to ensure the health and safety of our residents. Thank you for working with us to accomplish this goal.
Respectfully,
Daniel R. Lucey, M.D., M.P.H.
Interim Chief Medical Officer
District of Columbia Department of Health
April 28, 2004
Prepared by:
DC Water and Sewer Authority
Department of Engineering and Technical Services
In Cooperation With:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III
Department of Health
&
DC Public Schools
On March 4, 2004, representatives of the DC Water and Sewer Authority (DCWASA), the DC Department of Health (DCDOH) and DCPS met to discuss the urgent need for sampling the water outlets in the public schools that served the target population of children under the age of six in Head Start, Pre-K, and Kindergarten programs. The agencies coordinated closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, to refine the protocol to be used for the school sampling. One critical timing element was to complete the sampling quickly, before the April 2, 2004, switchover by the Washington Aqueduct from chloramines to chlorine as the disinfection agent. Despite that tight timeframe, DCWASA, DCDOH, and DCPS coordinated closely so that the vast majority of the schools were sampled before being impacted by the switchover. Below are milestone dates in the school sampling programs.
March 26, 2004
Training was complete by WASA for the personnel selected by DCPS (see Attachment A). Two training sessions were administered at 10 AM and 1 PM (see Attachment B). DCPS regional managers were tasked with coordinating the sampling efforts with the DCPS staff.
March 28, 2004 to April 6, 2004
DCPS staff performed the flushing and sampling and delivered all samples to the Penn Center. A WASA engineering representative was on hand at the Penn Center as the bottles were delivered to offer technical assistance and QA/QC to verify completeness of the Bulk Chain of Custody (BCOC) Forms and bottle labeling. WASA packaged and shipped the samples to the lab.
DCWASA has prepared the report containing the following:
raw data on the test results (see Attachment C) received from 130 of the 137 schools tested (the remaining date will be presetned as an amendment to this report as soon as it is available);
a summary of the data (see Attachment D) showing the results of 43 specific water fixtures with lead concentrations above the action level of 20 parts per billion (ppb);
sketches showing the locations of the 43 fixtures in their respective school buildings (see Attachment E); and
the school testing protocol as approved by EPA along with copies of training materials (see Attachments A and B).
This report presents the results of 1,976 water samples tested representing 130 school facilities.
43 fixtures have results above the action level of 20 ppb; 36 first draw and 16 second draw. There are eight (8) school fixtures that exceed on both the first and second draw.
8 of the fixtures are fountains (either coolers or bubblers); the remainder is all sinks (kitchen, classroom, or other).
Approximately 4% of the fixtures show first and/or second draw results abovethe action level of 20 ppb.
4 fixtures tested above 300 ppb on the first draw; 595 ppb, 1,830 ppb, 2,099 ppb and 7,300 ppb.
3 fixtures tested above 300 ppb on the second draw; 501 ppb, 538 ppb, and 4,935 ppb.
No fixture tested above 300 ppb on both the first and second draw.
Attachment A - Handout for "Training for Sampling in Schools - March 26, 2004"
Attachment B - Sign-In Sheets for "Training for Sampling in Schools - March 26, 2004"
Attachment C - Raw DCPS Sampling Results
Attachment D - Summary of DCPS Sampling Results >20 ppb
Attachment E - DCPS Sketches for Outlets with Sampling Results >20 ppb
| School Name | Address | 1st draw | 2nd Draw |
| Ballou | 3401 4th st, SE | 5 | 4935.7 |
| Ballou | 3401 4th st, SE | 595.2 | 2.1 |
| Bell Multicultural | 3145 Hiatt Pl, NW | 42.4 | 4.4 |
| Bowen | 101 M st., SW | 20.7 | 0 |
| Bowen | 107 M st., SW | 0 | 87.1 |
| Brightwood | 1300 Nicholson St., NW | 0 | 64.6 |
| Brightwood | 1300 Nicholson St., NW | 26.5 | 0 |
| Burrville | 806 Division Ave., NE | 23.1 | 0 |
| Clark | 4501 7th st., NW | 2099.8 | 8.6 |
| Dunbar | 1301 New Jersey Ave., NW | 24.1 | 2.2 |
| Eastern | 1700 East Capitol St., NE | 27.3 | 0 |
| Eaton | 3301 Lowell St., NW | 26.5 | 13.8 |
| Eaton | 3308 Lowell St., NW | 26.2 | 18.9 |
| Eaton | 3309 Lowell St., NW | 42.3 | 17.9 |
| Ferebee-Hope | 3999 8th St., SE | 22.6 | 11.2 |
| Ferebee-Hope | 4001 8th st., SE | 60.1 | 0 |
| Gage-Eckington | 2025 3rd St., NW | 33.4 | 0 |
| Gage-Eckington | 2025 3rd St., NW | 34.4 | 31.2 |
| Hart | 601 Mississippi Ave., SE | 37.6 | 43.5 |
| Hearst | 3950 37th St., NW | 34.7 | 27.1 |
| Hendley | 425 Chesapeake St., SE | 0 | 22 |
| King | 3205 6th st., SE | 52.1 | 2.3 |
| Lafayette | 5701 broad Branch Rd., NW | 0 | 67.2 |
| Malcolm X | 1355 Alabama Ave., SE | 31.7 | 0 |
| Orr | 2209 Minnesota ave., SE | 40.3 | 0 |
| P.R. Harris | 4600 Livingston Rd., SE | 7.9 | 23 |
| P.R. Harris | 4606 Livingston Rd., SE | 4.1 | 21 |
| Penn Center | 1709 3rd St., NE | 21.9 | 23.4 |
| Rabauto | 100 Peabody St., NW | 197 | 538 |
| Rabauto | 100 Peabody St., NW | 141.8 | 501.3 |
| Seaton | 1512 10th St., NW | 67 | 5.8 |
| Shadd | 5601 East Capitol St., SE | 21.6 | 22.9 |
| Shadd | 5601 East Capitol St., SE | 0 | 24.8 |
| Shaed | 305 Douglas st., NE | 57.1 | 28.3 |
| Shaed | 306 Douglas st., NE | 61.2 | 13.4 |
| Sharpe Health | 4327 13th St., NW | 30.4 | 0 |
| Terrell MC | 3301 Wheeler Rd., SE | 1830.6 | 8.1 |
| Tyler | 1001 G st., SE | 34.7 | 4.5 |
| Wilkerson | 2513 Alabama Ave., SE | 26.4 | 7.1 |
| Wilkerson | 2513 Alabama Ave., SE | 7300.2 | 2.7 |
| Wilkerson | 2513 Alabama Ave., SE | 33.6 | 2.3 |
| Wilkerson | 2513 Alabama Ave., SE | 134.4 | 4.1 |
| Wilson | 3950 Chesapeake St., NW | 38.6 | 0 |
| Wilson | 3950 Chesapeake St., NW | 59 | 0 |
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