Earlier this week, Mr. Glatz issued a letter to families of Pace students in regard to lead tests conducted over the past few months. The tests found lead content in three sinks on the Pace High School campus.
The faucets school custodian Anthony Canales knew were problematic were the South Kitchen’s prep sink for washing dishes, the sink in 335, Mr. Zoboi’s room, and one in room 211 in Emma Lazarus. Both are cold water faucets marked for handwashing only.
In December, Mr. Zoboi was asked if he knew he had one of the rooms with the most lead in its pipes. “I had no idea, but they did come… I think they probably worked on the pipes, but no, I was not notified. I’m surprised to hear that,” he said.
A water quality test was expected to take place in 2024, according to Canales. New York State law requires the Department of Education to test public schools’ water for lead every three years, as the last reported test occurred in 2021.
When asked why they were not posted in December, Canales speculated, “I guess they’re waiting to clear the issues. We have three that are still high in lead content,” Canales said.
Out of all the contaminated sinks, Zoboi’s remains the only one with lead content in high amounts at that. In September, it was as high as 6 parts per billion. Canales was waiting for that sink’s issue to completely resolve. But when that did not happen, Zoboi’s sink was completely disconnected.
Oddly enough, after the lead test was conducted in April, only families of students of M.S. 131 were notified. Pace High School and Emma Lazarus’ families were not informed at that time. It was not until Tuesday, Jan 6, that Pace issued an in-depth packet showing the sinks’ lead content and the completion of remediation work.
The lack of transparency during the remediation process is worrisome, as students and staff were using the sink for handwashing and the washing of supplies.
