BUFFALO, N.Y. — Spectrum News 1 continues to follow reports of high lead levels found in multiple Buffalo Public Schools.

Reports from 2021 show that, of the 59 schools listed on the BPS website, about 80% of them had at least one water source with lead levels higher than the action level for lead in school drinking water.

Those schools range from elementary schools to high schools. There are some schools with results still not posted.

As for how high those levels were, the action level is 0.015 milligrams per liter. The highest level Spectrum News 1 saw was a "bubbler" at PS 79 at 0.755, around 50 times that limit. It’s important to note that these sources were shut down or labelled “not for drinking,” but Spectrum News 1 heard from parents the other day who are concerned either way.

The district did partner with Buffalo Clinical Testing LabCorp to offer free lead testing for kids. One of the program coordinators for “Lead It Go,” a program that works with kids ages 0 to 3 who have high blood lead levels, explained that they work to help the child’s growth stay on track, since lead can impact brain development. They also try to educate families about lead exposure in home settings, like from paint in homes or apartments built before 1978.

Regardless of your child’s age, they urge you to get them tested if there’s any concern, as it's only a finger prick.

“It might help those around the child understand," said Mary Frances Bayer, a program coordinator for Lead It Go. "There's a reason for difficulty with attending. There's a reason for challenges with learning. There's a reason for some social emotional struggles the child may be having.”

Interim Superintendent Tonja Williams made clear on Tuesday that they are taking steps to fix any of these lead issues and will be transparent about it.

While there isn't any data about whether the lead in the water specifically did or didn’t have an effect on blood lead levels, we do know that in 2020 there were 539 new cases of high blood levels in Erie County as a whole. In 2021, that dropped to 484 new cases.

It’s also worth noting that lead level screenings were down 20% in 2020 as compared to 2019. In 2021, they only bounced back about 5%, and so there's still a deficit in testing. It remains to be seen if this latest news has any impact on that.