The state Department of Labor & Industry has ordered Allegheny County to determine if unhealthy levels of lead are in the air employees breathe inside Building One of the County Health Department's Clack Health Center in Lawrenceville.

According to a three-page letter dated Jan. 27 and released by Labor & Industry today, state inspectors found damaged plaster, and paint and accumulated dust on furniture and floors that may point to high lead levels in the building's air.

The Labor & Industry letter addressed to County Council President Rich Fitzgerald also cites violations related to water damage, mold and ventilation and gives the county 60 days to address and fix the problems. It warned that failure to comply with the state order "could jeopardize your continued use and occupancy of (the) building" that houses 44 county workers, including those in the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

The state inspection was prompted by a series of unofficial tests by an employee in the lead program that found extremely high lead dust levels last year in the almost 90-year-old, three-story brick building at Penn Avenue and 40th Street.

Mr. Fitzgerald said he hasn't seen the letter but promised the county would take immediate action to comply.

"I will send it along to the Board of Health and indicate the seriousness of the situation," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "Remedial action will need to be taken."

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