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NMU administration handled elevated lead reports correctly

The old saying, “Better safe than sorry” comes to mind on Northern Michigan University’s decision to close several buildings on campus last week after water testing showed inconsistent lead level readings, with some water samples showing elevated levels of lead.

NMU officials on Wednesday closed the PEIF, the Thomas Fine Arts Building and the Learning Resources Center. The buildings will remain closed until the university receives testing results, but are currently expected to reopen Monday.

Derek Hall, chief marketing officer at NMU, told local media that closing the buildings will accelerate the testing, which required flushing water from each building for six continuous hours.

TriMedia Environmental & Engineering Services handled the initial testing and completed the follow-up analysis for the university.

The three buildings in question are among older structures on campus, which may have something to do with the high readings. Older buildings with old plumbing setups are generally known to test high for lead. Expedited results were due today. University officials will address any elevated results and presumably report that to the public.

We give NMU credit on how they handled this situation. Hall was upfront early, making telephone calls and making university premises — and himself — available to media.

They were transparent about something, we are certain, was viewed as less-than-good news. They kept the public informed, which is exactly what they should do.

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