The state Department of Labor & Industry has ordered Allegheny County to test for high levels of lead and mold that could cause unhealthy working conditions at the county Health Department's Clack Health Center in Lawrenceville.

According to the three-page order released by Labor & Industry Friday, state inspectors found damaged plaster and paint and accumulated dust on furniture and floors that may point to high lead levels in the air inside Building One. The 90-year-old building houses 44 county workers, including those in the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

The Labor & Industry letter addressed to Allegheny County Council President Rich Fitzgerald orders air tests and also cites violations related to water damage and ventilation. It sets a March 30 deadline for the county to correct the problems and warns that failure to comply with the order "could jeopardize your continued use and occupancy of [the] building."

The state inspection was prompted by a series of unofficial tests last year by employees in the county lead program that found extremely high lead dust levels in the three-story brick building at Penn Avenue and 40th Street. Subsequent lead tests also found high lead dust levels in Building Five of the Clack Health Center Complex.

Mr. Fitzgerald said he hasn't seen the Labor & Industry 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."

Bruce Dixon, county health department executive director, also said Friday afternoon that he hadn't seen the state letter but the air testing, cleanup, maintenance and ventilation orders "all sound like reasonable issues to address."

Troy Thompson, a Labor & Industry spokesman, said the letter lists four findings that are violations of the state General Safety Law.

The order requires the county to hire a certified, independent testing company to conduct air tests for lead and mold throughout the building, follow all remediation recommendations to correct any problems and then retest the air to prove compliance.

The county also was ordered to provide ventilation in a bathroom and a second-floor work area where painters are scraping old paint and refinishing windows that will be returned to offices throughout the building.

Work on Building One and several others in the Clack Health Center began more than five years ago but remains incomplete with many window openings still covered with plywood.

Lead dust levels hundreds of times higher -- one more than 1,300 times higher -- than the residential limit that would require remediation were found by tests done in Building One in August.

Exposure to lead -- through ingestion or inhalation of airborne particles -- can cause lead poisoning. In children, such exposure can cause damage to developing nervous systems, loss of IQ, learning disabilities and behavioral problems, and recent research shows adults can also develop health problems, including hypertension, high blood pressure, headaches, reproductive problems, nerve disorders and memory loss.

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