Newark School Memo on Lead in Water: Smoking Gun

The memo is attached to this email.

A recently obtained memo showed that school officials in Newark knew about the problem of lead in their drinking water since August of 2014. A memo from Keith Barton, Executive Managing Director of Operations, was sent to faculty and staff of Newark Public Schools warning them about possible contamination. The memo included instructions to run drinking fountains for at least 30 seconds before drinking from them. Custodians were told to run each fountain for two minutes prior to the schools opening each day. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“This memo is a smoking gun. We now know that in the Newark school leadership, just like in Flint, knew that there was a problem with lead in the water. A year and a half ago, they sent out this memo to everyone in the school system with protocols on lead in drinking water and fountains. They knew that they needed to do more testing and put in place filters that needed to be maintained. They knew they had to flush the water before they could drink it every day. That memo should have been a wake-up call for action. They could have been working to reduce lead in their water using better equipment or filters. They would never have sent out this memo if they didn’t know that there was a problem with lead and that the problem had been going on for some time. This is the kind of memo you send out to staff to tell them to do things because you know there is a problem and that’s why this is a smoking gun.

“The people who worked for Cami Anderson and those in charge of schools knew about this problem with lead and that they should let the water run before drinking it or probably bring in bottled water. This is just like in Flint where the Governor’s office told State workers not to drink the water. Why didn’t they post this by all the fountains“ Why didn’t the students and their parents” Were the teachers made aware of this? Why didn’t this show up in last year’s tests or the ones from the year before“ Were there actually filters in place” Based on this memo they knew about this for at least two years, if not longer. Governor Christie put Cami Anderson in charge of the schools. This problem is another example of Christie’s arrogance and Anderson’s incompetence.

“New Jersey’s standards for lead that we do have are too high. The level at one of the Newark schools was as high as 550 ppb. New Jersey is using the Action Level of 15ppb when it should be stricter: at least 5 ppb. This means it could be an even bigger problem. We need to lower the Action Level standard for the state to better protect our citizens, especially the children most at risk from lead poisoning. Lead can cause illness and even in small amounts can lead to brain damage and learning disabilities. It can also lead to childhood development problems and other serious health issues. Thousands of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning in New Jersey each year; over 3,000 in 2015 alone.

“This situation is becoming more and more like Flint. Flint Michigan is a major man-made public health and environment disaster. It happened because of an anti-environmental and regulatory agenda set by Governor Rick Snyder. Governor Snyder chose an emergency manager who was political crony and industry lobbyist who decided to use the polluted Flint River for the town’s water supply to save money. Just like in Michigan, Governor Christie has also stacked his administration and environmental and public health professionals with political friends and former lobbyists that worked for polluters.

“Christie said lead wasn’t a problem when he vetoed a bill that would give $10 million to remove lead from children’s homes. Once again, the Governor is wrong. Problems in our schools like the ones in Newark show that lead is actually a serious problem. We shouldn’t be balancing our budget on the backs of our children’s health. Just like in Flint, Michigan, we have a governor who is more concerned with politics than protecting drinking water or the health of our children.

“The state of New Jersey hasn’t been fulfilling their obligation to protect drinking water and public health. Christie’s Executive Order 2 calls for no rules stricter than federal standards which would impact the regulation of these compounds in our water. New Jersey law requires a one in a million drinking water standard for cancer while the federal limit is one in 10,000 to one in 100,000 depending on the chemical. The Christie administration has not adopted any new standards while in office.

“This Administration has had a war on science. They have removed scientists from key positions. The award-winning Division of Science has been downgraded to an Office and a political appointee now heads the Office rather than a scientist. The Science Advisory Board has been stacked with polluters, including DuPont. Since they have not made any recommendations in five years, the DEP has not adopted any standards. The Drinking Water Quality Institute has not met in more than five years. They haven’t come up with new standards and the DEP hasn’t adopted any. For 15 years the state hasn’t updated its Water Supply Master Plan and the Christie Administration has been blocking it for the last six years.

“This incident in Newark is indicative of a systemic problem. We’re seeing issues with lead in the drinking water pop up in Camden, Brick, Asbury Park, Morristown, Perth Amboy and other places. All the schools in New Jersey needs to be regularly tested for lead and we need much stricter standards. We need to increase testing at the sources but also at the faucets in individual homes and buildings statewide. While the Governor acts like it isn’t serious issue, we’re seeing school children and hospital patients being exposed to a dangerous neurotoxin. We need to protect our most precious resource: our children.

“Just like in Flint, there was a memo telling people in the buildings not to drink the water and let it run. This shows a real parallel to what happened in Flint and similar to that situation, we have a Governor who is making the situation worse. Governor Christie has continued to put our environment and public health at risk. His policies have allowed for more pollution in our waterways. He has vetoed important legislation to keep toxins out of drinking water. He has stolen money from lead abatement and used it to plug holes in the budget. The Governor and his Administration need to be held responsible for what is going on Newark and across the state with lead in our drinking water.”