Presence of lead in water: double standards in Yukon

The Ministry of Education ensures that it is working to ensure that drinking water in Yukon schools meets Canadian standards regarding the quantity of lead that is acceptable to be found there, more than five years after a review by Health Canada.

The territorial government recently reviewed drinking water testing reports from 2018 and 2019 and found that more tests and possible remediations will be necessary in around thirty schools in the territory, so that they respect the health standards established by the federal government in March 2019.

The revision came after two students from Del-Van-Gorder School in Faro, Lilou Lefebvre and Olive Passmore, found lead in their school’s water as part of their science fair project.

The high level of lead in the water at this school is what prompted the Yukon government in 2018 to carry out analyzes and repairs.

The Acting Director of Operations at the Ministry of Education, Jayme Curtis, confirmed that it was the discovery of the two students that led to the revision of the test results and that an external contractor has since been hired to test water for all schools in the area.

The Ministry of Education uses two different standards

In its emails to parents and public messages over the past month, the Ministry of Education has made several references to Recommendations for drinking water quality in Canadawhile rather following, until very recently, another Health Canada document entitled Guidance Document on Corrosion Control in Drinking Water Distribution Systems.

The standards in the latter allow a higher concentration of lead in drinking water in non-residential buildings, i.e. a maximum quantity of 0.02 mg/L.

However, the concentration of lead is lower in Recommendations for drinking water quality in Canada which, until March 2019, allowed a concentration of up to 0.01 mg/L. It has since been reduced to 0.005 mg/L.

Department of Education spokesperson Michael Edwards confirmed that Yukon is instead complying with the corrosion standards, writing that it is a joint decision made by the Ministry of Education and the Chief Medical Officer of Health, based on guidance available at the time.

Indeed, the equipment used for the 2018 analyzes only made it possible to detect a minimum concentration of 0.02 mg/L of lead, the rest was indicated as being only below the limit. It was therefore impossible to know whether the drinking water met the standard at the time of 0.01 mg/L.

In an email sent to parents this month, however, the government merged the two different standards, indicating that the analyzes carried out in 2018 Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality”,”text”:”were used to ensure that the water met the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality”}}”>were used to ensure that the water complied with the Recommendations for drinking water quality in Canada.

The new analyzes and repairs must be completed before the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Until then, Jayme Curtis says all water fountains that have been found to have high levels of lead have been closed and students are encouraged to bring bottled water.

Elsewhere, employees were informed of to flow water from fountains for five minutes every morning, even if, according to the Guidance Document on Corrosion Control in Drinking Water Distribution Systemsit may not sufficient to lower the lead and copper levels in water below the prescribed thresholds.

The opposition wants answers

The Selkirk Elementary School Committee in Whitehorse sent a letter to Education Minister Jeanie McLean questioning the lack of action regarding the management of drinking water in schools .

They are our children, aren’t they? And the teachers, the administrators, all the adults who work in these schools, will this become an issue for them in the long term?asks committee member Melanie Davignon.

Opposition parties are also demanding answers. If the Yukon Party congratulates the two Faro students for bringing the issue to the forefront, MP Stacey Hassard questions the government’s proactivity.

It’s interesting and a little scary that it is [la découverte des deux élèves] which pushed the government to finally acthe said.

According to the leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party, Kate White, the government must take responsibility and, now that the issue has resurfaced, she expects that concrete actions be taken to resolve this matter.

For his part, Yukon’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Sudit Ranade, points out that short-term exposure to higher levels of lead does not raise health concerns. acute toxicity. He says he is in discussions with the Ministry of Education to determine the next steps.

At this point, I would say that this is not an emergency, but that it is something that requires action.he said.

According to information from Jackie Hong