Business Administrator/ Board Secretary, John J. Deserable, released a letter April 5 announcing the results of the township’s lead testing.
Water sources at every school in the Haddonfield public school district except J. Fithian Tatem Elementary School tested positive for lead above the acceptable Environmental Protection Agency limits, according to a letter by John J. Deserable, the school district’s business administrator/board secretary.
In compliance with state Department of Education of regulations, the district performed lead water testing on 137 locations, seven of which had lead concentrations above the EPA’s action level of 15.5 parts per billion.
The effected outlets included two water coolers, three sinks, a coffee maker and a kitchen kettle filler. The district’s short-term response has been to take all of the affected outlets out of service. According to Deserable’s letter, the testing results lend a strong indication that the lead contamination stemmed from the individual water outlets and not from the building’s plumbing system.
In the letter, Deserable said long-term solutions are still being evaluated, and the district will notify students, faculty and parents once those are decided.
““The Haddonfield Board of Education is highly committed to the safety of our students and staff,” Deserable’s letter stated.
State Department of Education regulations require schools to test for lead within one year of the the regulation’s enactment and to subsequently re-test for lead every six years. The Haddonfield school district’s testing took place from March 7 to March 10, the results of which were explained in detail in Deserable’s letter published on the school district’s website April 5.
Superintendent Richard Perry said the district will be sending out more information once its consultant advises them on the best course of action.
To view the results of Haddonfield’s lead testing, go to Haddonfield Public School’s homepage at http://www.haddonfield.k12.nj.us.
