Column: UNC must be more transparent about lead in water safety measures

More than two years have passed since UNC detected lead in the water at Wilson Library.

In the ensuing months UNC discovered lead in drinking water fixtures of 125 buildings across campus and, while fixtures have since been tested and repaired, students, faculty and staff are seemingly expected to accept the bare-minimum approach the University has taken to ameliorating ongoing concerns.

UNC should ensure that all lead-tested fixtures are clearly labeled and provide more direct communication about current remediation efforts.

Across campus, UNC’s Environment, Health and Safety Department has plastered labels pertaining to lead safety on drinking water fixtures. Many of these labels are not filled out, offering no insight into the safety of the water the fountains spew. Many of these stickers do not instill confidence in the safety of a given fixture’s water, being that the people who put them up don’t even bother filling them out.

You can go into most any elevator in North Carolina and see the beaming smile of Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson, but where’s the EHS’ smiley representative? 

The EHS website — which only allows logged-in users in the UNC System to comb through lead tests across campus — returns no results for tests on many drinking fountains, despite implying that these results are available.

Two years ago fixtures in Caudill Labs were found to contain lead exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action threshold of above 15 parts per billion. You’d think UNC would make restoring the building to safety its top priority, but alas, the EHS website provides no information regarding lead testing or results in the building.

At least this website, which I’m sure most people on UNC’s campus visit daily, is not totally useless — it outlines several “Clean Water Habits” for occupants of lead-contaminated buildings to follow.

“Only use cold water for drinking and cooking,” the website advises. “Hot water can leach lead, if present, from the plumbing into the water."

It also recommends running fixtures for “at least 30 seconds prior to use.”

Quite helpful, right? Of course, it’s totally reasonable to expect people to run taps for 30 seconds and avoid hot water — because clean, safe water on a university campus is clearly too much to ask for.

Even in the case of lead detection in a building’s water, some fixtures are not tested for lead. Showers, bathroom faucets, laboratory faucets and eyewash stations are excluded from lead testing per the EHS.

This selective testing indicates a lack of care for safety on campus that is curious, if not outrageous. Personally, I’d like to know if the water I’m using has dangerous levels of lead in it, whether I’m washing my hands, taking a shower or — perish the thought — drinking it.

For the last few weeks the mulch surrounding the Old Well has been marked off. Now, campus horticulturists are sprucing up the area with colorful plants and fresh greenery. It’s all well and good to keep up appearances, but it is discouraging that the University would rather put money toward creating a facade of care than ensuring the safety of its facilities.

This is a call for transparency. UNC must improve its communication regarding lead findings on campus, ensuring that information about the safety of drinking water fixtures is easily accessible to all students, faculty and staff.

EHS should provide comprehensive updates on remediation efforts, including details about lead testing in buildings that return no results on its website. It is crucial that the University prioritizes the safety of its facilities over mere image — that it fosters trust and accountability across campus.

@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com