Schumer calls for increased lead testing at schools

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer introduced legislation at Long Beach Middle School on Wednesday that would reimburse school districts that have their water tested for lead.

Tim Baker/Herald

Long Beach Schools’ water has been deemed safe to drink in recent years, and school officials said that another test for lead would begin next week.

Tim Baker/Herald

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After high lead levels were detected in the water at schools in Ithaca and Newark, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer unveiled new legislation at Long Beach Middle School on Wednesday that would ease the burden on school districts throughout the state when it comes to costly water-quality testing — and ensuring that drinking water is safe from potential lead contamination.

The legislation would establish a federal grant program for districts that choose to test their drinking water, a proposal that comes in the wake of the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Mich., as well as the recently revealed high levels of lead in more than 60 samples taken at two schools in Ithaca. Elevated lead levels were also found at schools in Newark earlier this month.

Schumer was joined at Wednesday’s press conference by Schools Superintendent David Weiss, members of the Long Beach Board of Education and Nassau BOCES, and said there is a “yawning gap” in lead-testing protocols.

“It’s disturbing that Flint may have been just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to toxic lead in our kids’ drinking water — and the lead contamination in Ithaca, New York only underscores this concern,” Schumer said in a statement after the press conference.

According to USA Today, an analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data showed that about 350 schools and day-care centers across the country failed lead tests a total of about 470 times from 2012 through 2015.

Schumer said the two schools in Ithaca — where lead-water levels were found to be over 15 parts per billion, the level at which the Environmental Protection Agency requires districts to take action — made it clear that lead pipes could still be contaminating the water that students are drinking. Last month, Schumer called on the EPA to help determine the extent of the problem in Ithaca and how to mitigate high lead levels.

Schumer said lead pipes were banned in 1986, but schools with pipes installed before that are at a greater risk for unsafe drinking water. The younger a child is, the more damaging lead can be, as the toxic metal can hinder a child’s brain development and sometimes lead to conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder and behavioral problems, he added.