March 12, 2019
Dear Parents and Guardians,
In February 2018 the State of New Hampshire adopted Senate Bill 247 "Preventing Childhood Lead Poisoning from Paint and Water". This bill requires that by July 1, 2019 all schools and licensed childcare facilities in the state complete testing for lead in drinking water at all locations where water is available for consumption by children. It also requires clearer real estate disclosures for homes built prior to 1978 due to the fact that lead paint was widely used before this date. To further protect your family from potential exposure, the state recommends that all residents test for lead paint if your home was built prior to 1978, and to test your water for stagnant lead from your home plumbing whether you have town water or a private well.
The water testing protocol for Senate Bill 247 (SB247) consists of collecting one liter of water from each fixture first thing in the morning, before there is any water use in the building. This is referred to as "stagnant lead" and is intended to represent worst case conditions. Lead is not naturally occurring in water but can leach out of plumbing fixtures as the water sits stagnant over long periods of time. This is why, in addition to testing, it is important to flush the tap every day until the water runs cold before using it for drinking or cooking.
In compliance with SB247 we have recently completed testing of all locations at which children obtain drinking water at Northwood School. All locations showed levels well below the drinking water lead advisory. While the ultimate goal is for zero lead exposure, the action level in drinking water is currently set at 15 parts per billion (ppb) or 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L) as the threshold to implement remedial actions.
Testing results for Northwood School were obtained as follows:
|
Test Location |
Sample Date |
Lab Report Date |
StagnantLead,ppb (mg/L) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kitchen prep sink |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Kitchen hand wash sink |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
<0.001 |
|
Fountain near Room 105 |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
<0.001 |
|
Room 101 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
0.0011 |
|
Room 100 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
0.0014 |
|
Fountain by Room 116 |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Lobby fountain (high) |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
<0.001 |
|
Lobby fountain (low) |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Fountain by Room 123 |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
<0.001 |
|
Fountain by Room 200 |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Fountain 5/6 hallway |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Room 223 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
0.002 |
|
Fountain 1/2 hallway |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Room 147 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
0.0034 |
|
Room 149 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
0.0017 |
|
Room 142 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
<0.001 |
|
Room 151 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/12/19 |
0.001 |
|
Room 144 sink |
2/28/219 |
3/121I9 |
<0.001 |
We are available to answer any questions and provide any additional information you may need. Please contact Tom Sayers at tsavers@northwoodschoolnh.org or 942-5488. In addition, the state has additional background information and resources available that you can find with a simple web search for "NUDES Lead in Drinking Water".
Sincerely
Jocelyn Young