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Lead levels at local schools do not exceed maximum acceptable concentrations

Recent media coverage shows that thousands of Canadians may be drinking water laced with lead
Drinking Fountain
Following media reports that thousands of Canadians are drinking water containing high levels of lead, the Pembina Hills School Division had drinking water tested at all of its schools in mid-November. The tests showed all of the schools had lead levels below the Maximum Acceptable Concentration of five parts per billion (ppb), as outlined in the Canadian Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality.

BARRHEAD - Recent testing shows that lead levels within the drinking water at all Pembina Hills School Division schools are below the Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MAC), according to the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.

During their Nov. 27 board meeting in Barrhead, trustees accepted a letter from the Alberta government regarding recent media coverage of lead-related health risks in schools.

In early November, Global and a number of other media organizations published the results of a year-long investigation into lead levels in drinking water across Canada.

The investigation determined that “hundreds of thousands” of Canadians could be consuming tap water laced with high levels of lead that is leaching from aging infrastructure and plumbing.

The letter, which was signed by health minister Tyler Shandro and education minister Adriana LaGrange, stated that Alberta Health Services (AHS) was ready to support school divisions if they wished to test lead concentrations in water sources.

If school jurisdictions had already completed tests, those results could be provided to AHS’ Medical Officers of Health and Public Health Inspectors, who will review the results against the MAC guidelines set out by Health Canada.

AHS would then provide recommendations to mitigate the risk to human health posed by lead water levels.

Director of facilities Tracy Tyreman contacted the Edmonton branch of ALS Global, a company that provides a wide range of testing services, to test the drinking water in local schools for lead.

According to tests conducted Nov. 12, all of the samples collected from local schools showed a concentration of less than five parts per billion (ppb), which is the Maximum Acceptable Concentration for lead under the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines.

The MAC for lead is based on preventing developmental effects in children less than six years of age, as well as negative effects on learning and memory and the effects of kidney function in the general population.

“The good news really was that all of our sites were below the maximum level,” said Supt. David Garbutt.

According to the test results provided to the board, Busby School had the highest lead concentration of 4.32 ppb, while R.F. Staples had lead content of 2.38 ppb. The Westlock Outreach’s test result was 0.161 ppb, while Westlock Elementary School had a lead concentration of 0.189 ppb.

Eleanor Hall School had a result of 0.257 ppb, while Pembina North Community School’s result was 0.38 ppb.

Neerlandia Public Christian School showed a lead level of 0.238 ppb, while Dunstable and Fort Assiniboine had concentrations of 0.225 and 0.39 respectively.

The public works building and the regional office were not tested for its lead content because it shares the same water source as Barrhead Elementary and Barrhead Composite. Also, the staff generally utilize bottled water.

Garbutt noted that Tyreman was looking at some further options like lead filters to further minimize the lead concentrations in drinking water.

Board chair Jennifer Tuininga told trustees to alert local school councils to the fact that their water had been tested over the past month.

Health effects of lead

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to children, because they can absorb four to five times as much ingested lead as adults from a given source.

Lead is distributed to the brain, liver and kidney. It is also stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time.

The WHO states that at high levels of exposure, lead poisoning can attack the brain and central nervous system, resulting in coma, convulsions and death.

At lower levels, lead is known to affect children’s brain development and result in behavioural changes like reduced attention span and increased antisocial behaviour.

In adults, it may also cause anaemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs.

While lead can leach from pipes, it should be noted that lead particles can also be inhaled as a result of mining, smelting, manufacturing and recycling, and the continued use of leaded paint, gasoline and aviation fuel.


Kevin Berger

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