Less than 5 at Indiana school have elevated blood lead level
GREENTOWN, Ind. (AP) - Local health officials are pleased by test results showing elevated levels of lead in fewer than five students or staff members at Eastern Howard School Corporation.
The Howard County Health Department tested 635 students and staff in February after water tests in November showed elevated lead levels in drinking water from a classroom's sink at Eastern High School, the Kokomo Tribune (http://bit.ly/234Ms5Q ) reported.
An initial blood screening found blood lead levels above what's deemed safe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in six students and staff.
The health department conducted a blood draw from five of those individuals to confirm the initial test. The follow-up test determined that fewer than five of them had elevated lead levels in their system.
Local health officials aren't allowed to release the specific number of students and staff with elevated blood lead levels because of Indiana Department of Health regulations prohibiting agencies from reporting specific numbers if they're fewer than five, according to Jennifer Sexton, a registered nurse and the public health nursing manager for the Howard County Health Department.
Although the tests revealed elevated blood lead levels, it's still unclear what caused them.
The department plans to conduct inspections at the affected students' homes to see if lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust, which are the leading causes of lead poising, caused their elevated blood lead levels. If that's the case, the source will be removed, and then the person's body can begin dissolving the lead.
Since less than 1 percent of the district's students and staff have elevated levels, the department can conclude that contaminated drinking water isn't a problem at the high school, Sexton said.
"This is not a number I would even be moderately concerned about," she said. "This indicates there is definitely not a widespread issue with lead levels being elevated through water consumption either at the school or in the Greentown community."
But even though there's little reason to be concerned about the drinking water in the schools, Eastern Superintendent Tracy Caddell said he's still disappointed by the test results.
"They may be good from a percentage standpoint, but if you're the child or staff member with lead poisoning, that's not good for you, and I'm sorry that it happened to them, whatever the source," he said. "I feel horrible about it regardless of what the percentage is."
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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com