Kids At 4 Boston Schools Possibly Exposed To Lead From Water Fountains

BOSTON (CBS) - Kids and staff at four Boston Public Schools may have been exposed to elevated levels of lead due to a miscommunication involving the schools water fountains.

BPS reports that newly installed water fountains at the Lee School, Curley School, Another Course to College, and Mather Elementary School were prematurely turned on due to a miscommunication between the districts' facilities department and a third party contractor. When the mistake was realized, the fountains were tested for lead. Among the four schools, elevated lead levels were detected in 17 fountains.

Two other schools also prematurely turned on their new water fountains but BPS officials do not believe anyone drank water with elevated lead levels.

The fountains were installed as part of a project to overhaul the plumbing in the schools. Currently, they rely on bottled water.

BPS said it was made aware of the problem only recently and it is reaching out to families at the affected schools through automated phone calls.

"The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community members is always a primary concern and all incidents will be investigated to ensure that such an occurrence never happens again. BPS is communicating with families at the schools about these circumstances and their options if they are concerned about potential exposure to lead in drinking water," said a BPS statement.

Recently, Mayor Marty Walsh and Superintendent Tommy Chang have been closely reviewing how to provide students with clean drinking water. Last month, all 38 BPS schools with functioning water fountains were tested for lead.