The Environmental Protection Agency last week released lists of water coolers that may contain lead or have lead-lined water tanks.
The lists were mandated by legislation passed by the Congress last year.
The law also required the Consumer Product Safety Commisssion by Oct. 31 to order manufacturers of water coolers to recall, repair, or replace all units with lead-lined tanks.
Agency officials warned, however, that the lists are not exact. Other units may contain lead as well, they said. Conversely, not every model on the lists contains lead, they indicated.
The agency estimates that at least 1 million water coolers nationwide contain lead.
While announcing the lists, the epa also formally released a guidance document for schools for testing their water sources for lead. (See Education Week, Feb. 15, 1989.)
States are required to distribute the new manual to school officials by the end of July.
Although the law does not require schools to test their water coolers for lead, the agency urged that all do so.
Epa officials said that lead levels exceeding the proposed 20-parts-per-billion standard had been found in approximately 10 percent of the water outlets tested in schools in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
Copies of “Lead in School Drinking Water” (Stock No. 055-000-00281-9) are available for $3.25 each from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
Model Numbers
According to the epa, the following coolers may not be lead-free:
Halsey Taylor. Model numbers: WMA-1, SWA-1, S3/5/10 C&D, S300/500/1000D, SCWT/SCWT-A, DC/DHC-1, HWC7/HWC7-D, BFC-4F/7F/4FS/7FS. Coolers with cusp connection: 5656 FTN, 5800 FTN, 8880 FTN.
The agency said the following coolers manufactured by Halsey Taylor may also contain lead-lined tanks: WM8A, WT8A, GC10A, GC10ACR, GC5A, RWM13A.
Ebco Manufacturing Company (also sold under the names Oasis, Kelvinator, and Aquarious). Model numbers: CP3, CP3-50, CP3H, CP5, CP10, CP10-50, 7P, 13P, 13PL, DP20, DP20-50, DP3R, DP3RH,8DP8A, DP8AH, DP13A, DP13A-50, DP14A-50/60, DP10X, C10E, WFE10, PX-10, DP12N, DP15W, DP5M, DP7M, DP7MH, DPM8, DPM8H, DP13M, DP13M-60, DP14M, DP15M, DP16M, CP3M, CP5M, DP15MW, DP5S, DP7S, DP13S, DP14S, DP7SM, DP13SM, DP7WM, DP7WMD, DP5F, DP10F, EP5F, EP10F.
These models were also listed: WTC10, WEEC03, WEEC05, WEEC07, WEEC10, WEEC13, WEEH03, WEFC03, WEFC08, WEFC10, WEFC13, WEFC15, WEFC20, WEFC13-OX, WEFC20-OX, WEFC05-OX, WEFH03, WEFH08, WEKC03, WEKC05, WELC05, WELC07, WELC08,WELC13, WELC14, WELC15, WELC16, WELH07, WELH08, WEMC07, WEMC13, WW07T, WEFH03, WEFH08, WEPC05, WERC05, WERC07, WERC13, WETC05, WETC10, WEWC07, WEEC03-OX, WEEC10-OX.
The agency also cited all pressure bubbler water coolers with shipment dates from 1962 through 1977; bottled water coolers with the same shipment dates with model numbers CBI (H) and DB1R (H); and bottled water coolers produced between 1978 and 1981 with model numbers DB2 and and DB1R(H).
Sunroc Corporation. Bottled water coolers with numbers USB-1, USB-3, T6 size 3, BC, and BCH.
