Water tests raise lead concerns at LaBrae school

LEAVITTSBURG

Parents of some students in the LaBrae schools sent their student to school with bottled water Friday after the school district informed them Thursday that drinking water tests at Bascom Elementary School showed some results between 5 and 15 parts per billion for lead.

The federal government has set 15 ppb as the allowable level for lead in drinking water. Above that, officials are required to take action.

LaBrae Superintendent A.J. Calderone said he notified parents Thursday in an email that many of the results from water fountains and other drinking-water sources at Bascom were at below 5 ppb, which is considered an “undetectable” level.

Some were above 5 ppb, but after flushing the water for a couple minutes, a second test showed none were above 15 ppb, he said.

The preliminary results “came back safe, but we want to reduce lead as much as possible,” Calderone said.

The school district has begun to flush water at Bascom each morning to reduce the amount of lead in the water, he said. Parents were advised they could send their student to school with bottled water if they chose.

Calderone declined to release the specific water results to The Vindicator.

The school district built a new complex in 2005 that serves students in grades 3 to 12, but Bascom was built about 60 years ago, and would seem like the more likely place to find lead in the fixtures or pipes, Calderone said.

About a third of ther 100 water results have been received so far, none from the Grade 3 to 12 complex, Calderone said.

Testing at LaBrae was prompted by a presentation by representatives from the Trumbull County Board of Health Feb. 4 at a meeting of Trumbull County superintendents, Calderone said.