New York City Fails To Test For Lead In Day Cares
By Peak Johnson
The New York City department charged with overseeing day care centers on a regular basis, failed to test the centers’ water for lead contamination.
The New York Times reported that for years the department “falsified reports” that tests had been completed in order for the centers to receive operating permits, according to an audit released last month by city comptroller, Scott Stringer.
The audit found that New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had not tested the water from faucets and fountains in 70 of 119 day care centers, even though the health code required so.
“The health of our children is non-negotiable,” Stringer said in the audit. “The fact that the Department of Health directed its employees to enter false information in an official database is a blatant violation of public trust. It should not take an audit to ensure that a City agency is doing its job to protect our kids.”
According to Sunset Park Voice, 16 day care centers in Brooklyn had failed to meet lead testing requirements for their water supply.
Of the 119 open day care centers, 70 showed no evidence of required lead testing. Of 49 centers that did have testing records, five showed dangerous levels and required immediate action.
Symptoms of lead poisoning are hard to detect, according to the Mayo Clinic, but lead exposure can cause severe mental and physical impairment in young children.
All day care centers are required to test their water supply for lead, based on a 2008 City Health Code amendment, Sunset Park Voice reported.
In an interview with ABC 7NY, New York City Health Commissioner Mary Bassett responded to the audit.
"We acknowledge the comptroller's audit that shows some deficiencies in the system, but we now have results back on 97 percent of our childcare centers, and we know that about five percent of them had elevated lead levels and all of those have been corrected," Bassett told ABC 7NY.
Bassett also added that parents should not worry.
"What I would want to know as a parent is that we have never associated lead poisoning in a child with elevated lead levels in water," she said.
The Department of Health will be making the lead levels at day cares public next month.