Students, teachers demand zero lead in Oakland schools
(KRON) — Oakland Unified School District students and teachers are rallying outside City Hall Monday to demand that the district remove all lead from schools.
Since the school year began in August, OUSD has notified several schools that drinking water contains lead concentrations that exceed the district's water safety standards. Hand-written "do not drink" signs are posted above water fountains alerting students to not drink from them.
"Get The Lead Out of OUSD" coalition, a community group that organized Monday's rally, said more than half of OUSD's campuses have lead issues.
Elevated levels of lead were found in 186 water fixtures during testing this year, according to school district officials. Seventy of the 186 were over state and federal limits for lead. "Fixtures" include: water fountains, bottle filling stations, kitchen prep sinks, and water sources in hallways and on playgrounds.
"There is no safe level of lead according to the Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, and Environmental Protection Agency. To that end, the coalition demands no amount of lead detectable in our drinking water, creating a new action level for any results above 0 ppb," rally organizers wrote.
The coalition said its demands include:
Testing all water sources in all OUSD school sites immediately and annually
Test soil at all playgrounds, gardens, and outdoor areas on OUSD property
Provide free blood testing for students, teachers, and community members to check for lead levels
Repair aging infrastructure
The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and plumbing fixtures, according to the CDC.
The CDC wrote, "No safe blood level has been identified for young children. Lead can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels. Lead is a toxic metal that is persistent in the environment and can accumulate in the body over time."
Students at Oakland schools with lead in water should get blood tests, officials say
OUSD's Risk Management Team acknowledged failures in communication as students were returning for the 2024-2025 school year.
"We did not communicate effectively to the members of each school community as the testing launched, as we received the results, and as fixes were being implemented. We are putting systems in place to ensure a lack of effective communication does not occur again," district officials wrote.
District officials said additional lead water testing is underway.
