SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon health and safety officials have closed a multi-use commercial building in West Salem after finding extremely high levels of lead dust.
The building, at 576 Patterson St. NW, houses at least six businesses, including CrossFit West Salem and its daycare center; Little Lois Café; Capitol City Sports batting cages, Roller Fitness Salem, and a home renovation firm. Xicha Brewing, a brewery and restaurant, is under construction in the building.
The facility formerly was used to store and finish batteries.
It was sold to West Salem Storage LLC in November 2011, according to Polk County Assessor records. The company is owned by Sean Blackburn and Terence Christian Blackburn, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
The owner agreed Thursday to immediately shutter the structure at the request of the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Division.
The agencies had reviewed results of tests on dust wipe samples taken Feb. 24 from more than 20 spots around the interior of the building and determined the lead dust levels that were found posed a public health threat to those visiting and working in the building.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits for lead levels at child care facilities are 40 micrograms per square foot micrograms per square foot on floors, 250 micrograms per square foot for window sills and 400 micrograms per square foot for window troughs.
Many of the samples collected in the building were tested at thousands of micrograms per square foot. One sample taken from the brewery floor was measured at 2,115 micrograms per square foot. A window sill in the brewery was measured at 6,127 micrograms per square foot.
The highest sample in the building was taken from an electrical panel in a batting cage, found at 188,636 micrograms per square foot. Another on a girder above a roller skating rink was at 179,654 micrograms per square foot. Only one sample, on the CrossFit facility floor, was measured at less than 5 micrograms per square foot.
DEQ plans to inspect the building in the coming days, and Oregon OSHA will work with the building owner to conduct air monitoring during and after cleanup of the interior.
There is no time estimate for the cleanup, OHA spokesman Jonathan Modie said.
The extent of the public's exposure to areas of the building with the highest lead dust levels and the precise degree of the health risks are not known, OHA said.
Children are most at risk of long-term health effects because their bodies absorb more lead than adults and their brains are still developing.
Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in behavior and learning problems, such as lower IQ and hyperactivity.
OHA is encouraging anyone who is concerned about past lead exposure to see their health care providers and get screened for elevated blood lead levels.
Polk County Public Health is offering capillary testing for blood lead levels for children up to 18 years old, and pregnant and breastfeeding women, who have visited the building since Dec. 24, 2016. Call Polk County Public Health at 503-623-8175 for more information.
Deed restrictions had been in place on the site since the late 1990s, following cleanups to remove concrete flooring and soil contaminated with lead beneath it, Modie said.
The building’s owners were seeking to lift the deed restrictions and in 2016 entered the site into DEQ’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, which provides oversight to owners who want to clean up hazardous substance sites in a voluntary, cooperative manner.
DEQ recommended the owners test for lead inside the old building, and the owners agreed.
