Lead found in drinking water at 36 Seattle schools

More than 300 school drinking fountains and sinks have been blocked from use after tests turned up elevated levels of lead, Seattle Public Schools officials announced this morning.

The tests were conducted last spring when arsenic was found in some fixtures, and the results were presented to a school district committee last week. A district news release did not identify precise amounts of lead but said it was higher than the district's standard of 10 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency standard is 20 ppb.

Lead was found in water fixtures around the district in 2004, prompting officials to spend $13 million to replace pipes; about 1,000 new fixtures have been installed in schools.

The most recent results, however, show lead contamination in some newer schools that don't have lead pipes or fixtures and did not turn up high lead levels during the 2004 tests. Fountains where lead has been found will be taped off and signs placed nearby until more information on the test results can be determined.

The affected schools are:

Elementary
Adams
African American Academy K-8
Alki
Catherine Blaine K-8
Brighton
Bryant
Coe
Concord
Cooper
Dunlap
Emerson
Greenwood
Hawthorne
Highland Park
Lafayette
Lawton
Wing Luke
Madrona K-8
Maple
Orca
Schmitz Park
John Stanford International School
TOPS K-8
Wedgwood
Whittier
Whitworth