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Lead Found In Water At 20 New Schools, Count Up To 75 At CPS

By Ted Cox | July 16, 2016 12:00pm | Updated on July 18, 2016 8:33am
 CPS has tested all 324 of its schools built before 1986 for lead in the water. So far, 75 have levels above federal limits.
CPS has tested all 324 of its schools built before 1986 for lead in the water. So far, 75 have levels above federal limits.
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THE LOOP — Chicago Public Schools announced Friday that 20 additional schools tested positive for lead in the water, bringing the number to 75 schools that failed tests for dangerous levels of the toxic substance.

The new schools include Audubon, Barton, Cameron, Chalmers, Coles, Drake, Harte, Kershaw, Mireles, Owens, Parkside, Pickard, Pilsen, Portage Park, Prussing, Reavis, Smyser, Talcott, Wells at Mayo and Ella Flagg Young.

The latest schools that tested positive came a week after CPS added 12 additional schools to an earlier list: Burke, Everett, Fairfield, Greeley, Hamline, Hughes, Lovett, Marsh, Stowe, Washington, Woodlawn and Zapata.

CPS said in a statement that parents at all schools failing lead tests had been notified. They also declared Friday that all 324 district schools with pre-K programs that were built before new lead standards took effect in 1986 have been tested.

According to CPS, the district has thus far received readings from 4,000 fixtures at 212 schools, with 130 fixtures failing tests for allowable lead levels. That includes 65 fountains and 65 sinks, or 3.3 percent of all fixtures tested.

CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool announced in May that all schools would be tested for lead "out of an abundance of caution" after water tested positive for lead at Tanner Elementary. The tests were prompted by the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Mich.

Concerned CPS parents can find more details at a CPS webpage devoted to the subject.

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