Elevated levels of lead were discovered recently in classroom sinks at Ansbach Elementary School, seen here in September 2018, located in Ansbach, Germany. (Facebook)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Thirteen additional sinks at a Defense Department school in Bavaria have tested above acceptable lead levels, bringing the total to 17, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach said Tuesday. The elevated lead levels were found at Ansbach Elementary School on Katterbach Kaserne during follow-up testing on May 3. Results were returned Friday and announced in a Facebook post by the garrison.
None of the sinks were used for drinking water, garrison spokesman Nathan Van Schaik said Thursday in a joint statement with Department of Defense Education Activity spokeswoman Jessica Tackaberry.
“Your child’s safety is our top priority,” Van Schaik said, adding that the affected sinks had been taken out of service.
One of the sinks that showed an elevated lead level was built for food preparation but is used mostly for handwashing, Tackaberry said Friday. That sink wasn’t located in the cafeteria, where students normally eat.
A question-and-answer session with officials and medical experts will be held Friday at 4 p.m. at the Bismarck Kaserne movie theater for the Ansbach community, the Facebook post said.
The fixtures in all 17 sinks are scheduled to be replaced starting May 23, after which they all will be retested, Van Schaik said.
The affected sinks from the second round of tests include six in classrooms, three in rooms mostly used for storage, two classroom bathroom sinks and one each in the secretary office bathroom, bathroom area of the school kitchen, and a kindergarten food preparation area.
Initial testing in April revealed elevated lead levels were detected in four sinks at Ansbach Elementary. The results were received April 24 and publicly announced by base commander Col. Aaron Southard five days later.
One of the sinks from the original group also tested positive for elevated lead levels in the second round of testing, Van Schaik said.
Sinks in rooms 16A, 35A, 46A, and 109C registered 0.05, 0.026, 0.017 and 0.026 milligrams per liter of lead, respectively, Van Schaik said at the time. Figures from the most recent testing were unavailable Thursday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends action when lead levels exceed 0.01 milligrams per liter, though there is no level considered safe. Lead accumulates in the body over time.
After the initial findings, signs were posted telling students to avoid drinking the water until further testing could be done, Southard wrote in his April 29 memo. The base also changed the aerators on the four faucets and flushed the water system, the garrison said.
The school’s drinking fountains and water-filling stations, which are equipped with high-quality filters, have passed inspection thus far, Van Schaik said.
Ansbach Elementary opened in 1986 and accommodates students through fifth grade.
Base environmental officials are required by the Army’s Installation Management Command to test 20% of family housing and high-risk facilities every year, with the goal of complete testing every five years, the garrison website said.
A high-risk facility is any building frequented by children under 6, and includes some schools, as well as child development and youth centers.
No others schools in Europe have reported elevated lead levels so far this year, Tackaberry said in the statement.
