Potential lead hazards found at Onslow County school; no known cases of lead poisoning

Parents of children attending Thompson Early Childhood Center have been notified of potential lead hazards discovered at the school as part of a licensure process.

The Onslow County Health Department sent a letter notifying parents that an environmental lead investigation revealed the presence of lead poisoning hazards in areas accessible to children attending the school. The hazards were found primarily on the exterior of the facility, interior door jambs of the community restrooms, older door jambs of the interior main hallway and on cast iron radiators.

While the lead hazards have been identified, public health and school officials note that there have been no confirmed cases of lead poisoning at the school.

According to both the health department letter and a news release from Onslow County Schools, the lead dust samples collected inside the interior of the facility were well below lead dust standards.

“The primary route of lead poisoning for children age six and under is through the ingestion of lead contaminated dust which occurs by hand to mouth activity. The Onslow County School administration has been notified of the lead hazards identified and have implemented measures to minimize student exposure and access to areas where the lead hazards were found,” the health department letter states. “In addition, all of the lead dust samples collected in the interior of the facility were well below lead dust standards. At this time, no children are known to be lead poisoned.”

While no children at the school are known to have elevated lead levels, state law requires that any time lead hazards are found in a childcare facility parents are notified of the potential hazards. County public officials recommend children be tested to determine blood lead level.

The school district will hold an open forum at 6:30 p.m. today at Thompson Early Childhood Center in the Dr. Kay B. Gresham Multipurpose Room. The school district sent out letters to parents about the forum, which will allow them to talk to representatives from the school system and health department.

Collected:

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Posted by admin on Jun 12 2014. Filed under No Lead Paint. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry