Latest Durham lead data may raise stakes for city

DURHAM -- Durham has submitted about 800 previously undisclosed residential lead tests to state regulators, but omissions in that data, if corrected, would further imperil the city's compliance with federal water standards.

Durham was made to turn over results after a News & Observer investigation found the city violated federal rules by not sharing the information. An October report showing Durham's water met Safe Drinking Water Act requirements failed to include them.

That compliance is now threatened as state regulators await clarification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on how many undisclosed results must be included in Durham's scoring calculations.

"Everything really hinges on what the EPA's guidance is," Terry Pierce, the director of the state Division of Environmental Health, said Friday.

If regulators decide the unflattering data must be included, Durham's water could fail federal standards -- triggering more frequent testing, increased scrutiny and stepped-up public education about lead's health dangers.

The soft metal leaches from antiquated plumbing fixtures and pipe solder if water is too corrosive, which can happen when the chemicals added to treat the drinking supply are out of balance. Lead is especially toxic to young children and pregnant women, causing brain damage and other developmental problems.

An article in Dec. 22 editions of The N&O reported that Durham withheld testing results from homes in "special internal investigative study" this summer. Though federal rules require the disclosure of all such data to state regulators, they were not disclosed until the last week of December.

A closer look at 767 "customer requested" samples given state officials Dec. 8 also reveals inconsistencies that call Durham's compliance into question.

After a South Durham child was found to have high levels of lead in March, county health officials found that water from the apartment's kitchen tap was tainted at nearly 60 times the safety limit. Testing in the Penrith Townhomes and houses in a 1-mile radius found lead over the limit in nearly a third of those sampled.

'Plumbing problem'

Durham water officials said the issue was a "plumbing problem" limited to the apartments. As health officials found lead in more homes, city officials said they would reserve judgment until their own lab could verify the results. Owners of homes tested by the Durham County Health Department received e-mail messages and calls from city technicians asking for additional samples.

In July and August, Durham tested 59 homes in the vicinity of Penrith, of which 15 tested for lead above the federal safety limit of 15 parts per billion. Among the "hot" homes was that of Steve Sherman at 5413 Penrith Drive.

Durham did not share these results with state regulators -- an omission city water officials say occurred because they were unaware of long-standing rules.

Concerned by the results of Health Department testing, however, state regulators asked Durham to perform its federally mandated triennial lead testing a year early. The city also was told to add 10 homes in the "Penrith area" to the pool of carefully selected homes it had tested in past years to show Safe Drinking Water Act compliance. Federal guidelines allow sampling from June 1 to Sept. 30 -- when water is warm and the danger of lead leaching is highest.

According to its Oct. 23 report to the state, Durham indicates it randomly selected homes in the "Penrith area" by cutting a list of the 59 already tested into strips and having a secretary pick 10 from a hat.