contamination of water in the Chaffee High School at a meeting tonight.

Many mothers and fathers are furious that the lead problem has been hidden from them for more than two months -- or even longer.

Navy public works officers are treating the situation seriously and have introduced a number of safety measures before looking at overhauling the complete system.

But parents are shocked that their children may need blood tests to check the levels of lead in their bodies.

Official documents, leaked to The Royal Gazette , prove that the lead problem was known at least two months ago, following tests on various areas of the base in June.

One worried mother, who has asked not to be named, described the problem as a "nightmare.'' She said: "The school knew about this two months ago but they have only just told the parents. I have seen the results of the tests. There are extremely high levels of lead in some of the sinks.

"Even in the food preparation areas in the cafeteria the levels are high.

Boiling does not get rid of the lead, it makes things worse.'' The school has put safety markers on some of the taps which have been tested and where high levels of lead have been found. But the mother said that the children are taking the stickers off.

She said: "Some of the faucets that have been tested have very high levels.

It is almost poison coming out of there. They are telling people to run the water to lessen the lead levels, but this does not always work and kids do not run the water at all.

"It is not just affecting children on the base -- Bermudian children come on to play football and drink water from one of the worst taps.'' In the August 27 letter to the principal of Chaffee High School, Dr. Tom Smith, the US Navy's branch medical clinic called for random blood testing of adults and children.

It said: "It is strongly recommended that a blood level testing be performed on a random selection of your students.

"Although there has been no indication of students having overexposure to lead from the water, we would like to allay any parental concerns by performing these analyses.'' Public Works Officer Commander Mike Donnelly said: "We are in the middle of a testing programme for our water system.

"We are going through building by building looking at high priority areas. We have more concern for young kids than for adults because they are affected more.

"We have looked at the day care centre, the clinic, the schools and food preparation areas in the schools.'' Cmdr. Donnelly said that the tests had found some taps which are above the normal limits and require action, but he said the worst were ones which had not been used for some time.

The lead appears to have arisen because of corrosion in the out-of-date areas of the water system.

In the short term Cmdr. Donnelly said a special programme had been instituted of flushing and running water for a few seconds before drinking. But he pointed out that many sinks in areas like the science laboratories and bathrooms were marked so children would not drink the water.

He said: "There should be no problem washing hands or dishes, but people should be cautious not to drink the water. The water coolers are safe.

"The medical centre has offered its services for blood tests for parents who feel particularly concerned. Parents will have said: `Oh my gosh! Junior is going there.' We want to relieve those concerns.

"In the long term we plan to study the entire system and study corrosion control.'' Cmdr. Donnelly said that the amount of lead a person would absorb in a lifetime was as little as 10 percent and lead poisoning would come from other areas. He said that base was already ahead of schedule for lead safety measures in the water system.

Experts in the US are particularly worried about the effects of lead on young children who are vulnerable when their bodies are still developing at an early age.

Lead poisoning is irreversible and can lead to learning disabilities or behavioural problems, and nerve and kidney damage, brain swelling and death.