Boston Public Schools Students May Have Consumed Lead-Tainted Water

School officials notified parents.

Photo via iStock/dkhoriaty

Photo via iStock/dkhoriaty

Boston Public Schools officials say students may have consumed lead-tainted water from drinking fountains at four schools.

Administrators said Wednesday that a miscommunication between the BPS facilities department and a third-party contractor resulted in drinking fountains being turned on before they could be properly tested for lead contamination.

The affected schools are Mather Elementary School and Lee K-8 School in Dorchester, Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain, and Another Course to College in Brighton. While school officials say these fountains may have only been on for a few days, the contaminated fountains at the Mather may have been turned on for as many as three weeks.

The water has since been turned off in these four schools, as well as four others. School officials say the risk of affected students getting sick from lead poisoning is “extremely low.”