Autoplay:Play Video0:00 0:00: 0%: 0%LIVE -0:00 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nashville school officials may have covered up problems with the district’s drinking water, using a testing protocol that masks the real level of lead contamination, a NewsChannel 5 investigation has discovered.
Test results from a water sample brought to NewsChannel 5 Investigates by a Metro Schools insider suggests the contamination issues could be far greater than district officials have been willing to admit.
You can see the crud there, but if you shake it just a little," Combs said, jiggling the bottle as the water turned green.
She worried that the copper contamination could make its way into the food that’s prepared in the cafeteria.
It added, "The district tested all fixtures at the building last summer and all were below EPA action levels."
The Metro Schools insider described the testing protocol.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "A couple of hours, you say?"
That’s what we were instructed to do that day."
The water is run throughout the building, then allowed to sit for at least six hours before a test sample is collected.
"EPA recommends that sampling instructions not contain a pre-stagnation flushing step."