WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MAY 30, 2019 3
Parks study confi rms lead in fountains
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Queens may be top in lead
contaminated water fountains,
as the city Department of Parks
releases early results of study begun
in early May to assess safety.
While Queens had the highest
number of fountains that tested
above the federal level, Parks has
shut down those indicating toxicity
including four in Forest Park alone.
The agency tested a total of 448
with 20 across Queens, Brooklyn
and the Bronx coming back above
the level of 15 parts per billion
(ppb). The worst transgressor in
the World’s Borough was the tennis
courts in Cunningham Park which
came in at 339.20 ppb.
Councilman Robert Holden
commented that as a life-long
resident of the area that he and
others have steered clear of the
park’s fountains on account
of taste.
“The lead-testing and remediation
of Parks Department water
fountains is long overdue,” Holden
said. “I remember drinking the
water in the parks as a kid and
thinking it didn’t taste right, so I’ve
had a built-in mistrust with them
ever since, and I think many people
feel the same way. These tests are a
good first step toward ensuring the
drinking water is safe, and I would
like to see the soil in the parks tested
for lead as well.”
Some key points in Forest Park
with the highest toxicity were Dry
Harbor Playground with 296 ppb,
Oakridge with 149 ppb, Victory Field
71.7 ppb, and Seuffert Bandshell
with 33 ppb.
Other locations in Queens
included two fountains at the hockey
rink and another at the comfort
station at College Point Fields which
had between 17 and 21 ppb.
“The goal of our proactive testing
program is to make sure no stone
is unturned when it comes to
protecting our children from lead
exposure,” Parks spokeswoman
Crystal Howard said.
According to the agency, fountains
with water found to be containing
led were turned off as soon as results
came in. The added that elevated
lead level reflected in the blood of
children have not been associated
with any fountains or soil managed
by Parks.
Mayor Bill de Blasio set the city
in motion to raise the standard for
drinking water in the city lower
the amount of exposure in children,
especially in private houses, with
LeadFreeNYC. Parks launched their
studies of water fountains as part of
this effort.
“Our goal is to identify any hazard
immediately to eradicate the hazard,
to make sure the child’s exposure
is ended and to reduce the lead in
the blood levels of that child back
down to safe levels,” de Blasio said
at the launch of the program in
January. “We want to do that as
quickly as possible in each case,
that’s the best way to make sure a
child will come through okay. We’re
going to have trained Department
of Health personnel, nurses and
others directly working with each
family – a very hands-on approach
to ensure that each child is regularly
monitored and gets the support
they deserve.”
Photo: Paul Domenick/Flickr
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