SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Six businesses in Salem have temporarily shut down after it was discovered they had extremely high levels of lead dust.
The building’s owner closed the facility on Thursday at the request of state health and safety officials, The Statesman Journal reported (https://stjr.nl/2nUzE6S). The six closed businesses were the building’s tenants: CrossFit West Salem; Little Lois Café; Capitol City Sports batting cages; Roller Fitness Salem; and Moon Design, a woodwork and home renovation company. A brewery was also under construction.
The building previously was owned by GNB Batteries Inc. and used to store and finish batteries.
Oregon Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said the building has had deed restrictions since the late 1990s after cleanups to remove concrete flooring and soil contaminated with lead.
The state Department of Environmental Quality recommended that the owners test for lead inside the building. Dust wipe samples taken Feb. 24 from the interior of the building found samples with lead dust levels of thousands of micrograms per square foot.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits for lead levels at child care facilities are 40 micrograms per square foot on floors, 250 micrograms per square foot for window sills and 400 micrograms per square foot for window troughs.
The state environment department will inspect the building, and Oregon OSHA will work with the building owner to conduct air monitoring during and after cleanup of the interior. The owner also has agreed to fence the entire property.
There is no time estimate for the cleanup, Modie said.
None of the building tenants responded to requests for comment.
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Information from: Statesman Journal, https://www.statesmanjournal.com
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