NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The lab that found arsenic in the water at Jacob Riis Houses, an East Village public housing complex, retracted its results on Friday and said the original tests were false positives.
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The statement from Environmental Monitoring and Technologies, Inc. corroborates subsequent tests from another lab, LiRo Environmental, that found no arsenic in the water.
“Environmental Monitoring and Technologies — the original lab that provided the initial test results claiming there was arsenic in the water at Riis Houses issued a full retraction and released revised results, calling their initial results ‘incorrect,’” said Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams’ office. “Worse yet, the company has now admitted to being the ones that introduced arsenic into the samples, leading to the false results.”
The lab used a method for testing silver that involved introducing arsenic to the water sample, according to a statement from the lab. That contaminated sample was then tested for arsenic, which it predictably tested positive for.
A retest of the original batch of samples that tested positive for arsenic found no presence of the deadly chemical.
“We have now tested more than 140 points — both at the source and at the point of delivery — and we can confidently say the water at Riis Houses is and has been free of any discernible amount of arsenic since the initial tests were initiated in August,” said Levy. “Needless to say, neither NYCHA nor any other city agency will test water through Environmental Monitoring and Technologies any longer, and the city intends to pursue all available legal options on behalf of the residents of Riis Houses.”
The mayor’s office is continuing to ask tenants not to drink the water “out of an abundance of caution” and intends to release further test results tomorrow.
Yesterday Adams said at a press conference that a sample came back positive for legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease.
Bottled water and clean water from portable fountains will continue to be available for residents.
The test that yielded the original false positive result for arsenic was initiated by NYCHA after tenants reported cloudy tap water in August.
City Hall did not immediately respond to 1010 WINS’ request for comment on whether the water is still cloudy or if the cause for the discoloration is yet known.
Environmental Monitoring and Technologies first reported results for arsenic on Aug. 26 and again reported a positive test on Sept. 1.
Despite the fact that the lab eventually identified both results as false positives, the revelation of the timing of the tests partially supports reporting from investigative news outlet The City that NYCHA was aware of a positive arsenic test before tenants were notified on Sept. 2 but did nothing to prevent them from drinking water.
NYCHA denied The City’s claim, which stated the housing authority knew about possible arsenic contamination two weeks in advance of an official announcement. The timing of the tests suggests NYCHA knew at least one week in advance.
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