The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry has been asked and will investigate the potential health risks posed by persistent, highly elevated lead dust levels in the Allegheny County Health Department's Lawrenceville office complex.

Nina Ewall, an inspector in the county's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, filed a complaint requesting the investigation yesterday afternoon, claiming the lead dust levels in Building One of the complex where she works with about two dozen county employees pose a health hazard that has not been addressed in a timely manner by Health Department supervisors and administrators.

She's done tests since February in Building One, the almost 90-year-old, three-story brick building at Penn Avenue and 40th Street, that have found extremely high levels of lead in the dust on the building's second- and third-floor windowsills. She said supervisors have known about the findings since August.

Dr. Bruce Dixon, executive director of the county Health Department, said he does not believe the high lead dust levels are a problem for the adult workers in the buildings but said he welcomes the state testing.

A series of "wipe sample" lead tests done by Ms. Ewall found lead dust levels of up to 32,800 micrograms per square foot -- 150 times higher than the 250 micrograms per square foot that would trigger a remediation and cleaning recommendation in a residence.

According to the complaint, the highest lead dust level -- 337,000 micrograms per square foot or more than 1,300 times higher than the residential threshold -- was detected in August 2009 on a windowsill in the lead program's second-floor office by Ms. Ewall's supervisor, Jeff Jozwiak.

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