Legislation to require schools to annually test water for lead is gaining attention as problems are discovered in old pipes at schools. NYSUT supports the bill. "We want the bill to have a provision for funding so that it is more effective than just good intentions," said Vice President Alan Lubin, echoing a theme stressed by the statewide union's Health and Safety Task Force.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. James Alesi, R-Fairport, and Assemblyman John McEneny, D-Albany, would provide for annual tap-water testing for lead and copper and require reports on contamination and abatement. Schools that have their own water supply must test, state regs say; all other schools test voluntarily, sometimes after being approached by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, as happened in Albany.

The EPA earlier this year found excessive lead levels in 32 water fountains in five Albany schools. Most staff found out through a newspaper article. The district posted "out of order" signs, replaced faucet fixtures and screens, and made plans to remove water fountains.

"Students were in those buildings for up to seven years, and many of the staff were there for decades," said Bruce Romanchak, a technology teacher and member of the district-wide health and safety committee.

"We owe it to our students and staff to make every effort to confirm that no one was exposed to dangerous levels of the material," Romanchak said. "If the district is unable or unwilling to do what is necessary to assure this, it is incumbent on the union to step in and take the necessary steps."

Bill Ritchie, president of the Albany Public School Teachers Association, praised the committee for its work. "They got the word out right away to contacts in their buildings," said Ritchie. He pledged that the union "will remain on top of it to ensure the safest conditions exist for our children and teachers."

Lead in water is "outrageous, especially in an elementary school," said David Carpenter, a lead specialist and faculty member at SUNY Albany's School of Public Health.

Carpenter, a member of United University Professions, the NYSUT affiliate representing faculty and staff at the State University of New York, has published articles on lead effects on humans and other animals. He said increasing evidence shows there are no safe lead levels.

"The story on lead's actions is getting more serious," he said. "Even older children and adults do lose memory function."

Lead enters drinking water primarily from corrosion of materials and plumbing fixtures and lead-based solder.

When water stands for several hours or more in a system containing lead, the substance can dissolve into the drinking water.

"This means the first water drawn from the tap in the morning or later in the afternoon after returning from work or school can contain fairly high levels of lead," Carpenter explained.

Wendy Hord, NYSUT health and safety specialist, said some schools don't follow up when tests uncover high lead levels. Some simply shut off a faucet or try to remember to flush certain faucets in the morning before school starts, she said.

"By using those kinds of fixes over time, you're much more likely to have exposures," Hord said.

Margaret Sergent, health and safety chairwoman and an officer of the Rochester Teachers Association, favors the pending lead-testing bill. She helped monitor the replacement and shutdown of some fountains after the EPA reported 78 instances of high lead concentrations during voluntary testing of 39 elementary Rochester schools in 2004.

"Schools are overlooked often as a workplace for kids," said Sergent.

For more on lead in schools, go to www.epa.gov/safewater/schools/.

— Liza Frenette