Pressure grows to test plumbing in 1,000 secondary and primary schools

Two more schools were revealed on Friday to have unsafe lead levels in their tap water.

The latest revelations in the lead-in-water scandal come just a few days before the new school year begins - and a day after the government announced it will install water filters at more than 70 government and directly subsidized schools.

Diocesan Boys' School, one of the city's directly subsidized schools, said on its website that water samples from two of its buildings had lead levels of 21 micrograms per liter.

Meanwhile, four water samples from a primary school, CCC Heep Woh Primary School (Cheung Sha Wan), were also found to have unacceptable lead levels of 11.3 to 21.8 micrograms per liter.

The unsafe water samples were from drinking water for staff. The school promised to install the recommended water filters soon.

SKH St Thomas' Primary School in Sham Shui Po, built by the same constructor as Heep Woh, was the first school in the city revealed to have unsafe lead levels in its water. The primary school, which had installed new filters, will test its water again before it is used by students.

Chairwoman of the Hong Kong Association of the Heads of Secondary Schools Lee Suet-ying urged the government to take the responsibility to conduct water tests for all schools citywide - about 400 primary schools and 600 secondary schools. "It is undeniable that there is a public scare over drinking water, which needs to be addressed properly," said Lee, who is also the principal of Ho Yu College and Primary School in Tung Chung.

In response to Secretary for Education Eddie Ng Hak-kim's concerns about how water samples were taken by some schools, Lee said this was exactly why the government - which has a professional team - should assist schools in allaying public concerns.

Although the school has not been tested for lead in its water, Lee said she would authorize installation of four more filters on the unfiltered taps from which staff get water to boil. All the other drinking fountains already have filters.

On Thursday, the government announced its decision to install water filters at government and directly subsidized schools that were completed after 2005. Aid schools have been authorized to pay for the installation of filters using their subsidy granted by the government.

The government also suggested kindergartens, for children aged under 6, should install such filters before they open in September.

Hong Kong Early Childhood Educators Association urged the government to subsidize the installation of kindergarten filters under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme.

stushadow@chinadailyhk.com

A boy collects water from a temporary public tap at Kwai Luen Estate, New Territories, after the water supply to the public estate was suspected of containing excessive lead.Parker Zheng / China Daily

(HK Edition 08/29/2015 page6)