Water testing at a provincial government building in downtown Hamilton found unsafe levels of lead in the tap water in two bathrooms, a report obtained by CBC Hamilton shows.

Water samples taken within the Ellen Fairclough Building, a brick tower at King and McNab, showed elevated lead levels — above the maximum acceptable concentration of 0.010 milligrams per litre — in the women’s bathrooms on the 11th and 15th floors.

Exposure to lead is most dangerous for children under the age of six, when it can have serious negative effects on neuro-cognitive development.

Ever since I’ve worked there there’s been signs not to drink the tap water. - Randy Marie Sload, President of OPSEU Local 201

Adults chronically exposed to lead, meanwhile, may develop kidney problems, anemia, or impaired nervous system function, according to a City of Hamilton public health report. Lead has also been identified as a probable carcinogen.

Drinking water is a common point of exposure, though contact with other contaminated items like food, soil, dust or paint is more prominent.

When told about the elevated lead levels at the Ellen Fairclough Building, a local union president said she wasn’t surprised.

"Ever since I’ve worked there there’s been signs not to drink the tap water and to let it run for five minutes before drinking," said Randy Marie Sloat, the president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 201.

Most employees get their drinking water from a cooler provided to them, Sloat said, and the bathrooms in question are off limits to the public.

Sloat said a building alert went out a few months ago about the water testing, but she hadn’t heard anything about the results, though she added it could have been communicated to the health and safety committee instead of to her.

The building has recently had other problems, Sloat said, including windows breaking and falling. Today, several pieces of wood cover the spots where windows fell.

Testing carried out in July

Ontario Environmental and Safety Network Ltd. ( OESN ) carried out the water testing on July 22, and presented its findings to the property management company that runs the building, CB Richard Ellis, in a September report. The aging building has experienced other problems, recently, including several of its windows breaking. (John Rieti/CBC) OESN

The building’s facility manager, who the report was addressed to, said he was not allowed to speak to the media.

Infrastructure Ontario spokesman Ian McConachie said the contaminated water is in taps only intended for hand-washing and not drinking. He said signage was posted in the building informing tenants of the water testing results on Sept. 9.

A second memo was sent on Sept. 23, McConachie said, to remind building tenants to use "available water fountains as a source of filtered drinking water and not to consume water from any bathroom taps.​"

The City of Hamilton provides the building’s water, which the OESN report says means the water going into the building should meet the regulations laid out in Ontario’s Safe Drinking Water Act.

Apart from the 11th and 15th floor women's bathrooms, the water meets all standards, though the report also notes in some areas the aluminum level was approaching provincial guidelines.

During the test, the report says, a sample of standing water was taken, as well as a second sample after the water was left running for five minutes, which often helps reduce lead levels.

On the 11th floor, the standing number was 0.0210 mg/L while the flushed number was 0.0101 mg/L — still over the maximum acceptable concentration.

On the 15th floor, only the standing number (0.0117 mg/L) was above the acceptable concentration.

City exploring corrosion control program

Dan McKinnon, Director of Hamilton Water, says the problem is likely within the building itself. He said the city constantly tests its water and the lead levels have always been under the maximum acceptable concentration while in city pipes.

However, the city is still working on a corrosion control program, which will eventually introduce new chemicals to the water supply in efforts to stop lead from leaching out of old pipes and into the water in privately-owned buildings and older homes.

McKinnon said that project, which was started in 2007 at the behest of the Ministry of Environment, is still years away from being operational.

According to Health Canada, the main culprit for lead getting into water is the material’s presence in valve parts, gaskets, or pipe jointing compounds.

McKinnon said older homes and buildings are especially at risk, and that typically, the longer water sits still in pipes the more lead gets into it.

Because exposure is most dangerous for children and pregnant mothers, the Ministry of Environment’s website lays out strict rules governing drinking water at schools and nurseries.

OESN, in its report, suggests the building managers at the Ellen Fairclough follow the same advice to flush the water system daily or weekly, and continue regular testing at the site.

The water testing showed no problems with the water’s aesthetics, E.Coli levels or amounts of metal.