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The testing of drinking water from a further 20 kindergartens has been completed. Testing results indicated that the lead content in one of the 44 drinking water samples taken was 110 micrograms per litre, which exceeded the provisional guideline value for lead of 10 micrograms per litre recommended in the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. The remaining 43 drinking water samples met the WHO standard, a spokesman for the Education Bureau (EDB) said today (September 17). The kindergartens are listed in the Annex.
According to the EDB spokesman, three drinking water samples were taken from Hong Kong Christian Service Kwun Tong Nursery School by the Water Supplies Department the day before yesterday. The lead content in one of the drinking water samples taken from the tap of a stainless steel boiler was found to exceed the WHO standard, while the remaining two drinking water samples taken from water taps met the WHO standard.
The Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority have, after reviewing the relevant literature and research from local medical sectors and overseas health associations, defined the groups which are more easily affected by lead as children aged below 6, pregnant women and lactating women. Due to the limited blood testing capacity of the Hospital Authority, the Government will focus on pupils currently attending the affected kindergartens and relevant teaching staff who are more easily affected by lead, i.e. pregnant women and lactating women, for arranging blood taking and blood lead testing.
According to the nursery school concerned, the boiler was newly purchased and installed. It was used only upon the commencement of the new school year. The boiler was mainly for use by the staff of the school and sterilising utensils when necessary. The water was not for cooking or consumption by the small children. It is therefore not necessary to conduct blood tests for the students of the school.
The EDB has issued a letter to inform the school concerned about the water testing results. The school was also requested to inform the students' parents and staff, as well as to take necessary and appropriate measures in order to ascertain water safety and the health of students and staff. The EDB will maintain close communication with the DH and provide necessary assistance.
The EDB will continue to arrange drinking water tests for other participating kindergartens and public sector schools built with government funding in or after 2005. Installation of lead-reducing filters and drinking water tests in primary schools and special schools commenced on September 12 and 16 respectively. The first batch of test results, of two schools, will be announced next week. It is expected that the water tests for all primary and secondary schools concerned would be completed within three months.
The latest test results have been uploaded to the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/news011/Test_Results_of_Water_Samples_en.pdf) and updates will be made when more test results are available.
Ends/Thursday, September 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 20:14
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