Oregon Plan To Test Schools, Day Care Centers For Lead Announced
As the state moves to ensure the safety of the drinking water, emails are released showing that a Portland Public Schools' senior manager resisted testing and spread false information. And in Chicago, an additional 11 elementary schools show high lead levels in a pilot testing program.
The Oregonian:
State Plans To Coordinate Lead Tests Of Water In All Oregon Schools
State education and health officials announced Wednesday that the state plans to recommend that all public schools and day care centers test their water for lead this summer. State officials also said the Oregon Health Authority will collect and make public the results of all tests to make it easy for the public too see whether lead is present, and at what levels, in schools and child care centers. (Hammond, 6/8)
The Oregonian:
Portland Schools' Health & Safety Chief Fought Water Testing, Spread Misinformation
Portland Public Schools' senior manager for environmental health and safety, Andy Fridley, resisted testing school water quality and spread false information about the safety of drinking water in schools, email records show. Fridley was the point person charged with protecting students and employees in Oregon's largest school district from environmental hazards for two years. (Hammond, 6/8)
Chicago Tribune:
CPS Says High Lead Levels Found At 11 More Schools
High levels of lead have been found in water at an additional 11 Chicago elementary schools, with results from tests at scores of other buildings yet to come in, Chicago Public Schools said Wednesday. The district expanded lead testing to all of its 600-plus schools after a pilot effort begun in April found that multiple fountains at Tanner Elementary on the South Side spouted water that contained lead levels well above federal standards. (Perez Jr., 6/8)
The Oregonian:
State To Test Air For Heavy Metals In NE Portland Neighborhood
State environmental regulators announced Wednesday that they will monitor air in Northeast Portland's Cully neighborhood after an analysis of U.S. Forest Service data indicated the area could have high levels of toxic metals in the air. The monitoring should establish if the public is at risk, state officials said. (Zarkhin, 8/8)