LATEST: New mothers, patients notified about Morristown lead problem

Morristown Medical Center has established a call center and is in the process of reaching out to new mothers and other patients about possible exposure to lead that was found in the hospital’s tap water.

“Per federal guidelines, a communication will be going out to patients, guests, employees, volunteers, and medical staff with further instruction,” the hospital said, adding officials are “proactively reaching out to our higher-risk populations,” including mothers who recently delivered at the hospital.

The call center can be reached at 855-635-4657 to answer any questions concerned patients, guests, or vendors may have about the water supply. The call center is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Outside those hours, people can call the NJ Poison Control Hotline at 1-800-222-1222, which the hospital said is equipped to answer questions on the matter.

“Ensuring the safety of our water is a collaborative effort between local and state authorities. We have been working with the experts at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Department of Health, and the Morris County Office of Emergency Management to address levels of lead in the water at Morristown Medical Center,” the hospital said.

UPDATE: Lead in water for a month at Morristown hospital http://dailyre.co/1oYQdeR

“Working with these authorities, we have determined that patients, guests, and employees at Morristown Medical Center between Jan. 22 through Feb. 25, 2016 who ingested tap water may have had an exposure to lead.”

The state mandates Morristown Medical Center test the water for lead on a “semi-annual” basis. The hospital said the last tests were done in September 2015, “with acceptable results.” DEP said traces of lead were seen as early as October.

Routine testing was done between Jan. 22 and Feb. 22, as were tests conducted by the state after Feb. 25, the hospital said.

Exposure to lead preceding the Jan. 22 date is possible, according to the hospital.

“Based on what we know at present, Jan. 22 was the last time we received acceptable water results, which we are making our baseline,” the hospital said. “As we continue to investigate this matter with the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Health, that date may change.”

RELATED: Lead found in water at Morristown Medical Centerhttp://dailyre.co/1oKGR5z 

DEP has issued two Notice of Violations to Morristown Medical Center, the first on Feb. 19 for the interruption in operation of the corrosion control system and the second Wednesday as a result of information, including sampling results, obtained during the continuing investigation.

Copies of those documents do not list proposed penalties for the violations. DEP said penalties would be assessed after an investigation is complete.

Tests are conducted in 20 different locations throughout the hospital, and the latest tests identified levels of lead ranging from extremely low to those that exceed 15 parts per billion, a level which requires action according to federal regulations. As soon as they learned of the results, the hospital said it “immediately and aggressively acted,” shutting off the tap water and switching to bottled water last Thursday, Feb. 25.

Results of the most recent tests, taken last Friday, have shown a “strong decline” in the level of lead in the water.

“At this time, and in consultation with the DEP and DOH, we remain on bottled water for drinking and food preparation,” the hospital said. “Tap water continues to be safe for hand washing, cleaning, and bathing. We are working with the DEP and DOH to determine a timeframe to restore our tap water supply.”

RELATED: EPA urges states to locate lead water lines as required http://dailyre.co/1TP04jr

The hospital gets its water from a well located on the property, which is only used by the hospital’s main 100 Madison Ave. campus, so no other Atlantic Health or Morristown locations are affected.  

Tests have confirmed the well water itself is not the source of the lead.

“At this time, we are investigating the possibility that a lapse in a water treatment called orthophosphate,” the hospital said, “A commonly used chemical that keeps lead from entering our water system, may have caused lead particles to enter the water.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection said a licensed operator of the Morristown Medical Center water system first advised the agency of an issue with the corrosion control system on Feb. 17. That system is used to prevent lead that may be in pipes, solder, fixtures from leaching into the water.

It had been offline for an undetermined period of time at that point, DEP spokesperson Bob Considine said.

On Feb. 22, as a result of that information, the hospital sampled its water and got the results on Feb. 25. The results ranged from non-detect to “well above” the EPA’s action level of 15 parts per billion (PPB), Considine said.

At that point, Morristown Medical Center switched to bottled water and state DEP and DOH resampled the water the next day. The samples went to two separate labs, DOH’s Public Health and Environmental Laboratories and Garden State Laboratories, a private certified laboratory facility.

The results from the DOH laboratory resulted in a 90th percentile value of 199 PPB with a highest result of 326 PPB and 29 of 39 distribution samples exceeding the action level of 15 PPB.

Garden State Lab results also showed the 90th percentile for the 39 samples of 91 PPB.

“The raw water source, as expected, was non-detect for lead,” Considine said. “Based on our continuing investigation and the initial Feb. 17 advisement, we are observing the non-operation of the corrosion control system as the possible root cause of the elevated lead numbers in the system. With the system not in operation, the orthophosphate protective coating which prevents the lead from interacting with water, may have been compromised and allowed for the release of lead into the hospital’s distribution system.”

The system now appears to be in working order, but officials are waiting until the system is flushed and an ensuing test can confirm the water is once again safe. Until then, the hospital will continue to use bottled water.

SEE ALSO: LETTER: Morristown Medical staff a blessing http://dailyre.co/1X2aRWk 

The investigation into the elevated levels of lead in the water at Morristown Medical Center is ongoing, Considine said.

“DEP and DOH will continue to work with the hospital in our efforts to resolve the issue,” Considine said. We anticipate another round of sampling to occur in the very near future, after the hospital’s water system is completely flushed. Public safety remains priority number one for all involved.”

The hospital said it will continue to convey additional information “as quickly as it becomes available.”

Mayor Tim Dougherty has not responded to at least 12 calls and emails over the course of four days requesting comment.

The news of the findings at Morristown Medical Center comes in the wake of the Flint, Mich. water crisis, which began in April 2014 and has affected thousands of children in the area who were exposed to lead in their drinking water.

Lead in drinking water typically comes from lead soldering, pipes and brass faucets.

According to a fact sheet about lead in drinking water from the state Department of Health, too much lead in the human body can lead to damage to the nervous system, brain, and kidneys. Young children and fetuses are at greatest risk to lead toxicity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider a concerning level of blood in children younger than five years old to be 2.5 percent in the United States. A blood lead level greater than 5 microbrams per deciliter is a reportable amount, though there is no safe level of lead, according to the DOH fact sheet.

Lead can be removed from well water through point-of-use devices, and point-of-entry devices can reduce corrosivity. Water softeners and reverse osmosis units can also remove lead from water, according to the DOH.

For more information on lead and lead in drinking water, DEP directed people to two fact sheets available on the state website, http://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/dw_lead_factsheet.pdf and http://www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/pdf/lead-water-faq.pdf.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com