Response to water warnings is leaden

Lead tests may target wrong homes

Almost three-fourths of the public water systems in North Carolina that are required to test for lead have ignored a warning from state regulators that they may have been testing the wrong houses and a request for information about their test sites.

Responses the state has received so far indicate that hundreds of systems have been conducting lead tests improperly, in part because instructions the state gave them years ago were wrong. That means systems that have been passing lead tests could have an undetected problem.

Terry L. Pierce, the director of the Division of Environmental Health, told The News & Observer in April that systems that have not tested properly would be required to retest within 30 days. But that's not happening.

Except for Raleigh, the state has not ordered any retests yet, according to Jessica G. Miles, chief of the Public Water Supply Section. And Raleigh had already initiated a massive lead testing program on its own.

Miles said in interviews that it would take time to go through the responses.

"The idea would be that we would go through and get correct sites identified, and if it's clear that they've been sampling at improper sites, then we would ask them to test," she said. "Whether or not that happens, you know, in a month, or six months, for any particular system, it's hard to say."

Under the normal testing schedule, almost half are required to test this summer anyway. Lead is poisonous to infants and children younger than 6; even in small amounts, it can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems.

The Public Water Supply Section has been overwhelmed trying to monitor various tests required of the state's public water systems, and the governor has asked for an additional 19 employees. That request was scratched from the Senate's budget, but it's still pending in the House.

Miles' section sent letters to about 2,650 systems in late March after The N&O questioned state officials about systems that were not testing houses where they were most likely to find lead-tainted water. About 750 systems had responded as of Friday, including 57 that asked for more time.

Public water systems can ignore the letter without penalty.

"It's not a regulatory issue," Miles said. "I mean there's nothing in the rule that says so, so you don't expect a 100 percent compliance."

Miles said reminders would probably be mailed next month. Eventually, she said, her section would probably have to go to water systems that don't respond and try to get the test information.

The state's letter said there had been "inconsistent application" of the lead test rules. Public water systems are supposed to test single-family structures permitted in 1983, 1984 or 1985 if such structures are available. Or they could test structures of any age that contain lead pipes or are connected to a lead service line.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which makes the rules, requires tests of structures built just before all but a small amount of lead was banned in solder. In North Carolina, lead solder was banned in December 1985, the Public Water Supply Section says. Older homes aren't supposed to be tested because lead is more likely to be found in houses build just before lead solder was banned.

In the past, Miles' agency has given public water systems conflicting advice.

Earlier this year, the agency said it was OK to test structures built in 1983, 1984, 1985 or 1986. Before that, it sent letters telling public water systems to target structures built "between 1982 and 1987," which numerous system believed included 1982 and 1987.

Raleigh asked for extra time to respond to the letter from Miles' agency, but the city already retested 86 houses built from 1983 to 1985 and found no violation of the lead limit.