Photo/ ThinkStock 19 schools had at least one water fixture positive for lead above federal action levels, and 13 of those tested positive for both lead and copper.
The Enterprise @AnnaBurgess_ENT BROCKTON – Water fixtures at 19 of the district’s 23 schools have been shut off in recent months after they tested positive for lead or copper contamination.
Of the 23 school buildings in Brockton, 19 had at least one water fixture that tested positive for lead above federal action levels, and 13 of those tested positive for both lead and copper above action levels.
At every other school, both lead and copper levels were high in some water fixtures.
Other school committee members said they were glad to have done the testing and taken action on the results.
Ward 4 committee member Brett Gormley said, "I’m happy the state DEP gave us the chance to do this, because we never would have known about (these fixtures)."
Sullivan said he was "a little surprised" to see the results, but said he thought the district was "doing the right thing" in shutting off or replacing the fixtures right away.
In Brockton, a high percentage of children have had elevated lead levels in the past decade.
Between 2005 and 2015, 15 percent of Brockton children tested had elevated lead levels, while only 5 percent of children in Flint had elevated levels during its water contamination crisis.
He said these contaminants, which have possibly been in some school fixtures for years, may be connected with a higher-than-average rate of children testing positive for elevated lead levels.