Durham Reporter

A class project at UNC Chapel Hill has resulted in officials discovering that the campus has a problem with lead in the water.

After testing more than 50 buildings, the university is moving forward to the next phase of the project.

"Metals are ubiquitous, and we are not alone in this issue and so what we are uncovering here, it is likely to exist in many other parts of the country,” Dr. Rebecca Fry said in a report on WTVD.

A class project found detectable levels of lead in some campus water fixtures in September. UNC has since acted aggressively to resolve the potentially toxic problem.

The lead was discovered primarily in buildings that were constructed before 1930, but the next phase of the broader testing plan will check sites that have been put up after 1931.

Among the 50 buildings that have been tested so far, detectable levels of lead were found in kitchen sinks at Henderson Street and Hickerson House, an Environmental Health and Safety team at the university said in the report.

Once lead has been detected, George Battle, another UNC representative, said the problem can be resolved by swapping out fixtures or adding filtration systems.

Fryand Battle said this discovery has helped the campus and believes it could inspire other older institutions to perform similar checks.

As many as 100 people have been tested for lead poisoning, all have come back with readings of normal levels. Meanwhile, jugs of water have been made available to students and staff members.