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SANDY — Blood tests of Sandy residents who were potentially affected by the city’s water supply contamination last month have revealed no evidence of elevated blood lead levels, officials said Tuesday.
Out of 704 residents tested between Feb. 28 and March 8, only one showed abnormally high blood lead levels, according to a news release from Salt Lake County Health Department; however, that person was over the age of 65 and had other possible exposures to lead, officials said in the release.
Health officials previously said the water contamination was not likely to cause long-term health impacts to residents affected, according to the release.
“We are grateful that these results confirm for those screened that any potential exposure to elevated levels of lead in this incident was indeed brief enough to not cause elevated blood lead levels,” Salt Lake County Health Department executive director Gary Edwards said in the release.
A Feb. 6 winter storm caused a malfunction that resulted in increased levels of fluoride being released into the Sandy water system. The fluoride eroded the coating of water pipes in the city, releasing lead and copper into the supply.
The leak marked the beginning of an ongoing saga that has resulted in angry residents, reprimands from the state and a leave of absence from Sandy’s utilities director.
Intermountain Healthcare conducted the tests, according to the news release.
The Salt Lake County Health Department recommends that pregnant women and children ages 6 and under should be tested for lead exposure, whether or not they were potentially affected by the Sandy situation, according to the release.
Lead is prevalent throughout the environment, and it is present in many products, including jewelry, tableware, artificial turf and roofing, as well as in old paint from homes built before 1978, according to the health department.
