Thirty schools in Newark, New Jersey, have shut down their water fountain systems after finding elevated levels of lead. Officials in that city are stating that the issue is specific to certain schools and that the City of Newark’s water supply is safe:
"The problem is localized in the finite number of schools, and those are the schools that are the oldest and still have lead piping," Frank Baraff, the city's communications director, told The Huffington Post Wednesday. The city's water supply is "perfectly safe," he said.
Baraff, who said the school district and state officials are committed to total transparency as they work to alleviate the issue, also stressed that the situation is not as severe as the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Still, there was no mistaking the seriousness of the issue. The affected buildings range from high schools to elementary schools citywide. Baraff said he's been communicating with local hospitals in the area, and that families have already started bringing in their children for blood tests.
"At this point, the main recommendation is ... don't drink the water in any of the schools," Baraff said.
As in Flint, Michigan, which has occupied the public spotlight in regards to lead contaminated water in recent months, Newark is predominantly a city of color:
Newark, a city of nearly 300,000 residents, has the largest school system in the state by student enrollment. More than 25 percent of Newark residents are under 18. More than 80 percent of residents are non-white, and nearly 53 percent of residents are black.
School officials knew on Monday that the water was contaminated but waited until Wednesday to tell parents about the problem. The delay was due to logistics, they said. That’s still not as long of a wait as Michigan.
The crisis in Flint has turned the spotlight onto several other cities such as Cleveland and elsewhere. It has renewed concerns in New Orleans which was already dealing with the issue on a more extensive level. The scope and scale of poisoning of citizens, whether directly or indirectly, no longer merits an adjective like “shocking.” Increasingly, it appears that “criminal” should be the word of choice.