Legacy Environmental Group Michael Hootstein, Principal Hydrogeologist PO Box 158 Shutesbury, MA 01072 October 19, 2016 Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee‘ Trevor Baptiste Eric Nakajima Katherine Appy Audra Goscenski Anastasia Ordonez Vira Douangmany Cage Emily Marriott Phoebe Hazzard Stephen Sullivan 170 Chestnut Street Amherst, MA 01002 Dear Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee Members, On October 11, 2016, Acting Superintendent Mike Morris provided notice to us parents that lead-contaminated school drinking water is "safe to drink after using the flushing protocols that we have had in place all year long.” In respectful opposition, I assert Mike's "flushing protocols" policy dangerously threatens the healthy well-being of our children, teachers and school staff who should not have to worry about lead contamination in school drinking water - they deserve better! Lead results found in the High School, Middle School and Southeast Campus more than exceeded the 15 parts per billion ("ppb") "action level" (defined as the concentration, if exceeded, triggers remediation). Alarmingly high lead levels were found in the High School: 20 ppb in Room 193; 16 ppb in Food Prep Sink Kitchen Faucet; 460 ppb in the Health Room: 120 ppb in the Men's locker room; 420 ppb in the Training Room, left Bubbler: and 280 ppb in the Training Room, right Bubbler! Alarmingly high lead levels were found in the Middle School: 130 ppb in Room C-14; 220 ppb in Room C-28; 120 ppb in the Family Center; 110 ppb in Room C-7A; 25 in Boy's Locker Room Bubbler: 19 ppb in Food Prep, (left kitchen faucet); 16 in Girl's Locker Room Bubbler; 20 ppb in Hallway near Elevator, right Bubbler; 22 ppb in Hallway near Room C-19, right Bubbler; 35 ppb in Hallway near Room C- 25, left Bubbler; 18 in Hallway near Room C-25, right Bubbler; 100 ppb in Hallway near Room C-4 Bubbler; 19 ppb in Hallway near Wood Shop Bubbler; 52 ppb in Health Room, Exam Room Faucet: 60 ppb in Health Room, right Faucet; 73 ppb in Integrated Arts Room, left Faucet; 31 ppb in Janitor Break Room Faucet; 130 ppb in LSSE Break Room Faucet: 250 ppb in Pool Area near Boy's Locker Room Bubbler;83 ppb in Pool Area near Girl's Locker Room Bubbler; 46 ppb in Staff Room near Room C-21A Faucet; and 20 ppb in Office Mail Room Faucet! Alarmingly high lead levels were found in the South East Campus School: 23 ppb in a Cafeteria Bubbler and 20 ppb in another Cafeteria Bubbler; 47 ppb in Hallway near Room 106 Faucet; 16 ppb in Hallway near Room 107 Bubbler; and 25 ppb in the Main Lobby Bubbler! Unfortunately, the lead found in our schools’ drinking water will not conveniently disappear by use of any "flushing protocol". ‘The only practical and proven way to solve this problem is to get the lead out of our school drinking water by replacing each and every lead or lead-soldered water pipe and lead fixture! Boston Public Schools spent over $300,000 to fix their lead-contaminated drinking water problem by a partial replacement of lead fixtures and "flushing protocols” much like the Acting Superintendent intends to do. A March 29, 2016 Boston Globe article memorialized the results, "Boston schools moved to fix lead in water - - and now it's worse." If you adopt the Acting Superintendent's partial lead removal plan, you will similarly make our schools’ lead problems worse! I therefore call upon the 9-member Regional School Committee to purchase and provide our children, teachers and staff uncontaminated lead-free school drinking water until such time a new lead-free water delivery system is installed. Time is of the essence. Even the Amherst Public Water Supply water, contaminated with 6.3 ppb (parts per billion) of lead at school intake points, presents an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of schoolchildren, teachers and other school staff alike. According to the EPA: "EPA has set the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water at zero because lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels. Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time...Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at low exposure levels in children than in adults...In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells." According to the National Institute of Health ("NIH") "The routes of exposure include the ingestion of lead-contaminated food or drinking water containing lead leaching from older corroding pipes andfixtures...many longitudinal studies have provided evidence that cumulative lead dose causes cognitive dysfunction...Low-level exposure to lead during early childhood was shown to be inversely associated with neuropsychological development through the first 7 years of life...A direct link exists between low- level exposure during early development and deficits in neurobehavioral- cognitive performance evident late in childhood _ through adolescence...Exposure in utero in infancy or exposure in early childhood can slow mental development and cause lower intelligence later in childhood that can persist beyond childhood...In children, lead poisoning can cause brain damage/mental retardation, behavioral problems, low IQ, hearing loss, hyperactivity, developmental delays, diminished school performance, as well as deficits suggestive of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)." I applaud Acting Superintendent Mike Morris for responsibly taking the first step and getting school drinking water tested for lead. Now that we know dangerously high levels of lead leaching from old corroding school pipes and fixtures have contaminated all of Amherst Schools’ drinking water supplies, it would be foolhardy and irresponsible to not: Get The Lead Out of School Drinking Water Now! And, it would be foolhardy and irresponsible for this 9-member Regional School Committee to disregard the urgent plea of Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth who has proposed federal legislation to put an end to the school lead- poisoning epidemic we face here in Amherst? "Our children should not have to worry about lead contamination in their school drinking water - they deserve better... Each day we delay these improvements is another day our children's health is at risk - not just in Chicago or Flint, but across the country. As a new mother, I won't sit on the sidelines while our children are poisoned. I'm proud to lead this effort to help protect our kids when they are at school.” Respectfully submitted, fats Hootstei