No mercury found in 8 water samples from Rochester schools

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - Rochester officials said on Tuesday that 8 samples taken from two different schools have been deemed safe and no mercury was found in the water.

City officials said that all of the samples they took from Van Hoosen Middle and Adams High came back negative for mercury.

The tests were conducted Tuesday after a student experiment found extreme levels of mercury. A middle school water experiment was tested by an uncertified lab by a professor at Arizona State University -- who found extreme levels of mercury in the drinking water. 

Rochester Hills officials say they will retest the water for the next ten days.

Out of an abundance of caution, the school district canceled classes for those schools on Tuesday.

Here's how the district explained what happened: A science teacher at Van Hoosen knows someone who works at ASU. As part of a class experiment, some tap water was tested along with other samples. The test found high amounts of mercury in the tap water. 

The Environmental Protection Agency says anything above 2 parts per billion is concerned dangerous. The levels found in the middle school showed levels at 56 parts per billion.  When present in a water supply, mercury is known to damage kidneys and cause many other health problems.

The school district says as soon as this was discovered, water to both Van Hoosen Middle School and Adams High School was shut off, class was dismissed and additional water samples were sent off to the local health department and an independent company for testing.