www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 8, 2007 - 5 Lead leads to running water By Tim Whitnell SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Montclair Public School is among five in the Halton District School Board running water taps for 20 to 30 minutes at the start of each day after high lead levels showed up in water tests done over the summer. The five schools are running the taps to flush the drinking water systems. All public and Catholic schools in Ontario are required to open taps for at least five minutes every day, but the local schools are doing so much longer after they were red flagged and as a result mandated to do extended flushing. Along with Montclair, Tom Thomson and Ryerson public schools in Burlington, as well as the New Street site of the Gary Allan High School for adult and continuing education, and W.I. Dick public school in Milton, now have minimum daily flushing times of 20-35 minutes. After initial testing, a drinking water advisory for the schools was issued by Halton Region's medical officer of health and repeat tests were ordered. Lead is considered a potentially harmful metal to humans in certain concentrations, with the age of the individual exposed and duration of exposure being key factors. Children under age seven and pregnant women can be particularly susceptible to the neurological and blood effects of lead, according to Halton Region's website (www.halton.ca/ppw/water/drinkingwater/Lead.htm). The first results for the Halton public board showed that 21 of its 94 elementary and high schools had lead levels that exceeded the 10 micrograms-per-litre maximum before the system was flushed. The highest board-wide readings were 50 micrograms at Ryerson and 46.7 at Gary Allan. Both facilities were built in 1967. After system flushing, Tom Thomson (31.2/15.8), Montclair (25.1/17), Gary Allan (17.1), Ryerson (16), and W.I. Dick (13.5/11.5) still had lead levels beyond the guideline. Second and third rounds of water sampling were done in midAugust at the five schools. Some recorded results above and some below the standard before system flushing, but all scored below after elongated flushing. The drinking water advisory was then lifted and the new extended flushing times established for those schools. The best lead-in-water results in the Halton public board were readings of less than 0.5 micrograms, before and after system flushing, at Post's Corners and West Oak of Oakville, and Charles R. Beaudoin and Florence Meares of Burlington. The four elementary schools were all built between 2000-2002. At the first Halton public board meeting of the new school year on Wednesday, facilities superintendent Gerry Cullen told trustees a new Ontario regulation unveiled in June outlined flushing and testing requirements for all schools, private or public, and day nurseries. It applies when those sites are open and are catering to children under age 18. Cullen said that regulation required all schools constructed before 1990 -- with lead soldering used on copper water lines -- to flush their plumbing system once every day; for schools built after 1990 -- presumably without lead soldering -- the water system was to be flushed once a week. However, Cullen told the board the government order was amended Aug. 31 to require all schools in the province to flush their plumbing for at least five minutes daily. Cullen was quick to caution See Schools page 7 Children's Dentistry. We all know that first impressions can last a lifetime. Whether your child has been seeing a dentist regularly or is coming to our office for their first dental visit, Dr. Phelan and his team will go the extra mile to make sure that first visit to our office is a special one. We have an excellent new children's area in the reception room with a flat screen TV and playstation 3 with child friendly games and DVDs. We also have a fabulous salt-water aquarium custom-built for our office, with many colourful and exotic fish for your children to look at and enjoy. Each of our treatment rooms is equipped with satellite TV so your child can have some of their favourite programs playing during their visit to help them feel more comfortable in the dental chair. Dr. Phelan has recently invested in a dental laser that can treat cavities in children's teeth without the drilling sound or vibration. The Laser treatment can lead to a decrease in the amount of anesthetic that is required during the visit to treat the cavity and improve the overall experience for your child. Dori swimming in Dr. Phelan's Aquarium Dental Surgeon. Laser, Family & Cosmetic Dentistry 1500 Heritage Way, Oakville, ON L6M 3H4 call 905.827.1619 to arrange an appointment Creating sensational smiles in Oakville for 15 years.