May

20, 2016
Dear Tanner families,
In light of national events that have brought increased attention to the issue of water quality, the City of
Chicago announced several additional precautionary measures that will be added to the Citys water testing
protocol, continuing the Citys track record of exceeding current state and federal regulations as well as
industry standards.
As part of this announcement, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a pilot program to test water at 28
schools to help develop a standard approach for testing across the district. Our top priority is the health
and safety of our students and staff, and this pilot was initiated out of an abundance of caution to ensure
the water in our schools is safe. The 28 schools were chosen based on criteria that includes the age of the
school, age of the students (with priority given to schools with pre-K programs), presence of a kitchen
(where meals are prepared) and presence of pipes that could need repairs or replacement. An additional
four schools opted to also test their water alongside this pilot program. Suburban Labs, an independent lab,
analyzed the water as part of this program.
The results of this pilot program (a total of 236 samples) were analyzed, and 31 of the 32 schools had lead
levels under the EPAs action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb). The initial round of tests at Tanner used
samples of drinking water from five locations spread throughout the school, as well as in the kitchen. The
results showed that the water in the kitchen did not have detectable lead levels, but in one of the tests, a
drinking fountain on the third floor of the school produced a lead level of 19.8 ppb, which exceeds the EPA
action level of 15 ppb. As soon as CPS received this initial result on Monday, the drinking fountain was
immediately turned off, and CPS ordered an additional round of testing at Tanner to survey all drinking
fountains at the school. After expediting the test results, we received the final results Thursday evening,
which showed that an additional two drinking fountains had lead levels above 15 ppb, at 47.5 ppb (15.8
ppb after the pipe was flushed) and 15 ppb (non detect after the pipe was flushed). These two fountains
were immediately removed. The final deep flush test showed that one of the fountains that was shut off
had a lead level of 114 ppb, a likely result of being shut off for several days.
CPS is working with CPS Facilities Management and the Chicago Department of Water Management (DWM)
to determine the precise cause of the elevated lead levels, and will make any necessary remediations that
will provide a long-term solution.
The full results of Tanners tests will be available online at cps.edu/leadtesting with the rest of the school
testing results. Further, as a result of the pilot program, all schools will be tested out of an abundance of
caution, with schools that have younger children and older buildings tested first.

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Federal guidance indicates that children under the age of six are at the highest risk for harmful lead
exposure, and they can be exposed to lead from a variety of sources, including paint, soil and even some
consumer products. If you are concerned about your child, please contact your childs physician or another
medical provider who can administer a blood test. The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH)s lead
hotline can address any health related questions you may have; for questions or more information, please
call 312-747-5323. For additional information about lead and children, visit www.cdc.gov/lead.
The safety of your children is our highest priority, and we are doing everything in our power to address this
situation in a quick and thorough manner. We will continue to keep you and your family informed
throughout this process.
For more information, Principal White will be holding a parent meeting on Tuesday, May 24 at 4:00 pm to
answer questions and discuss next steps.

Sincerely,

Forrest Claypool Dr. Julie Morita
CEO, Chicago Public Schools Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health

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