MADISON - Town and state health officials have known for two years that water in the area near Kathleen H. Ryerson Elementary School and Dr. Robert H. Brown Middle School contained higher than normal levels of uranium, officials said Monday.

School district officials Monday disabled all water fountains at the two schools and supplied bottled water for drinking and cooking after the schools' water supplies tested positive for elevated uranium levels.

Town Department of Public Health Director John Bowers received a letter about high uranium levels in the Legend Hill residential community from the state's Public Health Department in October 2006, he told the crowd at Monday night's meeting at Brown.

Bowers said he acted in accordance with all state and federal laws, but told no one else in town government and made no public announcement about the letter.

Uranium levels have likely been high in the area, and in the school's water system, since wells were drilled decades ago, said Darrell Smith, chief of the state Department of the Public Health Drinking Water Section.

Superintendent of Schools David Klein wrote in a press release and letter to parents Friday that uranium, a mildly radioactive substance that can cause kidney disease, was found in water at both schools at a level more than three times the standard accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

There is no standard for schools, or mandatory testing for schools, Brian Toal, epidemiologist at the state Department of Public Health, said Friday.

The tests were done after an anonymous source sent a letter to school officials Oct. 28 about elevated uranium levels in the groundwater at Legend Hill, Klein said Monday.

Full Story: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/11/18/news/
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