Healthy Schools: Lead Paint Information

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Home > Services > Facility Services > Healthy Schools > Lead Paint Information

Lead can be found in paint produced prior to a federal ban in 1978.  The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) provides guidelines for testing and addressing concerns about lead paint in buildings. Four MESD buildings, Knott Creek School, Wynne Watts, Helensview School and Wheatley School were built and originally painted prior to 1978.

During the summer of 2016, testing was conducted at Wynne Watts, Helensview School and Wheatley School. Results indicated lead paint was present in some places and we have taken action to encapsulate the old paint per OHA guidelines. Based on results from Helensview and Wheately, Knott Creek is assumed to have lead paint in older layers of paint, therefore classrooms were encapsulated summer of 2017 before MESD moved into the building.

The Oregon Health Authority tells us that the dominant source of lead paint is in our homes. For more information about lead in our homes and ways to mitigate its effects, please visit the OHA website.

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