Update: Lead now found in water in sinks in UNC student dorm rooms
More than four dozen in-room sinks in a UNC-Chapel Hill student residence hall were found to have detectable levels of lead, according to an email sent by the university’s Department of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) on Tuesday.
The email, sent to occupants of Spencer Residence Hall, said EHS found lead in 57 of the building’s 84 in-room sinks after the department “completed comprehensive lead testing.” The department is “investigating further to determine the scope of the lead” in the building, the email said.
Noah Mitchell, a senior transfer student who lives in Spencer Residence Hall, provided the email to The News & Observer.
Spencer Residence Hall, which was built in 1924, is a hall- or corridor-style residence, in which students share communal restrooms and shower facilities, but each room has its own sink. Previous testing in the building revealed that three communal drinking fountains had detectable levels of lead.
The testing of in-room sinks in the building revealed “more instances of detectable levels of lead than we’ve seen in other older buildings on campus in our current testing,” UNC media relations manager Erin Spandorf said in an email Tuesday evening.
The specific rooms where in-room sinks were found to have lead, and the specific levels of lead detected in each those rooms, were not shared in the email Tuesday.
“Because these sinks are in private residence rooms, specific levels for each room will be communicated in separate notifications directly with room occupants,” the EHS email said.
The detected levels of lead in the sinks range from 1.1 parts per billion (ppb) to 34.6 ppb, “with 3 out of the 84 above the EPA action level of 15 ppb,” the EHS email said.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires public water systems to take action to reduce lead levels at 15 ppb, but the university has previously said it is “taking action for any measurable lead.”
In the email, EHS said the university “is also deploying additional drinking water coolers” in the residence hall “for occupants to utilize while the investigation continues.”
Students are advised to not use the lead-positive sinks until EHS has completed its investigation.
The email said EHS will hold a Zoom video call with building residents Wednesday “to answer additional questions.”
Lead, a toxic metal, has been detected in water fixtures of 13 buildings on the UNC-CH campus since late August. The university is currently in the second of three phases for lead testing.
In an emailed statement from UNC media relations sent Tuesday evening, George Battle, vice chancellor for institutional integrity and risk management, said the university is “taking an aggressive approach to resolve this situation” and is working with faculty experts, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) and the Orange County Health Department.
“The health and safety of our campus community is paramount,” Battle said.
Lead, even at low levels of exposure and ingestion, is known to cause adverse health effects, especially in children and pregnant women. In adults, the EPA says, lead exposure can lead to cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure, hypertension, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems in both men and women.
Free health testing is available for students on campus. Students and post-doctoral fellows interested in getting tested are directed to contact Campus Health at 919-966-2281.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 6:14 PM.
