More than 200 Long Island schools have lead fixtures above state limits, report finds

ALBANY — Over 200 public school buildings on Long Island had at least one water fixture that exceeded the state’s standard for lead, according to new data.

The data, released by the New York Public Interest Research Group on Thursday, is part of an interactive website aimed at increasing transparency by showing the number of fixtures with high lead levels at the county, district and school level. It comes after a larger study looking at statewide lead testing released earlier this month by NYPIRG, Environment America Research & Policy Center, and Frontier Group.

"New Yorkers now have a powerful tool to push local and state officials to protect school kids from the threat posed by lead contamination," said Blair Horner, senior policy adviser with the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Lead exposure can cause damage to children’s developing brains, negatively impact academic ability and can lead to behavioral issues, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The state requires school districts to test for lead in water used for drinking or cooking every three years. If lead levels are 5 parts per billion or higher, or 0.005 milligrams per liter, the fixtures must be taken out of service and replaced — a process that can be costly and time-consuming.

Newsday published a separate review in March, which found that nearly 3,000 water fountains, sink faucets and other water fixtures in the Island’s schools exceeded the state’s lead threshold. Of the 123 districts where results were reviewed, all but 10 had at least one fixture that didn’t comply.

According to the NYPIRG data in Nassau County, 501 outlets, about 4.5% of those tested, were positive for lead above the state limit, according to the data. Because testing is required every three years, the data in the report covers testing conducted and reported to the state from 2023 to 2026.

The top five schools with the most reported number of fixtures in Nassau County included:

• Northside Elementary School in the Farmingdale school district had 32 outlets that tested above the limit.
• The William L. Buck school with 29 outlets and the Robert W. Carbonaro school with 30 outlets, both in the Valley Stream Union Free School District 24.
• Baldwin Middle School in the Baldwin district had 19 outlets.
• And New Visions School of Discovery and Exploration in the Freeport district had 15 outlets.

A total of 519 outlets, about 4.6% of those tested, in Suffolk County were above the state’s limit. The top five schools with the most reported number of fixtures above the state’s limit in Suffolk County included:

• William T. Rogers Middle School reported 20 outlets above the state’s limit, and R.J.O. Intermediate School had 17. Both are in the Kings Park district.
• Bretton Woods Elementary School in the Hauppauge district had 16 outlets.
• Ward Melville High School in the Three Village district had 16 outlets.
• Eugene Auer Memorial Elementary School in the Middle Country school district had 12 outlets.

Some smaller school buildings had a lower number of fixtures that tested above the state limit, but these accounted for a higher percentage of their outlets, according to the NYPIRG data. For example, North Coleman Road Elementary School in the Middle Country district had three outlets above the limit, accounting for 37.5% of their total number of fixtures, according to the data. And Brooklyn Avenue School in the Valley Stream District 24 had seven outlets, accounting for 31.8% of their total number of fixtures.

"It is important to note that the results referenced in the data do not reflect the drinking water currently available to our students and staff," Valley Stream 24 Superintendent Unal Karakas told Newsday in an email. The district put in advanced filtered water bottle filling stations in each school and the water was tested again, resulting in nondetectable levels of lead in the drinking water, he said.

Middle Country schools similarly put in filtered drinking water stations, turned off or replaced the affected fixtures or marked fixtures, for example a slop sink, as nonpotable water so no one uses them for drinking or food preparation, Joseph Mercado, that district’s director of facilities, told Newsday.