Strides made in lead-paint cleanup of preschools
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Eighteen months after two O'ahu Head Start preschools were closed to prevent children from being exposed to lead paint, work is still being done to remove or neutralize all traces of the poisonous material from many of the program's sites.
Of more than 70 Head Start preschool classroom locations, lead traces were found either in the classrooms or adjacent areas at 35 sites. Problems at all of those sites have either been fixed or plans have been developed to avoid lead exposure to the children, officials said. The sites are: • At elementary schools: August Ahrens, Enchanted Lake, Hale'iwa, Hau'ula, He'eia, Helemano, Honowai, Iroquois Point, Jefferson, Kahalu'u, Kaimiloa, Kainalu, Kalihi Uka, Kane'ohe, Kapalama, Keolu, Kipapa, Kane'ohe Marine, Koko Head, La'ie, Lanakila, Makaha, Ma'ili, Maunawili, Palolo, Royal, Waiahole and Waipahu. • At other sites: Wai'anae boat harbor, Halawa District Park, Leilehua High, Marine Corps Base Hawai'i, Head Start's Kunia facility, Pu'u Haleakala community center, Swanzy Beach Park and the Wahiawa DOH building.
So far, the cost of keeping the lead problem in check is more than $97,000.
The sites
Head Start closed its preschools at Kahalu'u and Waiahole elementaries in August 2001 after damaged lead paint was found at both sites during required annual inspections. The two preschools reopened after plans to remedy the situation were developed.
Every Head Start site was tested — more than 70 in all, including at public schools, churches and city parks across the island — and 35 were found to contain some level of lead in either the classrooms or other areas used by students, such as cafeterias and libraries.
Problems at all of the sites have either been corrected or are being addressed, according to John Park, warehouse facilities supervisor for Head Start.
To comply with federal regulations, Park said the program has removed lead paint from walls, doors and door jams, replaced tiles, restricted use of some areas including cafeterias and libraries and even changed the path that Head Start preschoolers can use to walk to class, avoiding poles and handrails that tested positive for lead paint.
Park, who is certified by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to remove lead paint, said Head Start has spent $97,251 so far to correct the problems.
The state now gets about about $20 million annually in federal money to operate Head Start, which is intended to provide preschool education to children of low-income families. All Head Start sites remain open and none of the program's 1,700 students has ever been placed in jeopardy due to exposure to lead, Park said.
The state Department of Human Services, which is charged with enforcing federal guidelines on lead exposure at licensed childcare facilities and performs the annual inspections, is satisfied with Head Start's actions, said Garry Kemp, the department's acting administrator for the Benefit, Employment and Support Services division.
"I really don't believe in any of the locations that any of the children ended up being exposed to any danger as far as we are aware," Kemp said. "The preschool operators have acted responsibly and worked to get it corrected. In some cases it took a while to get it done."
Lead paint was widely used in public schools before 1978. Health officials say the paint is a health hazard when it becomes chipped or flaked and is ingested. Lead, which affects the central nervous system, can cause learning disabilities and behavioral disorders.
"My staff has been trained to identify the flaking and peeling paint," Kemp said. "If they run across issues, they ask for a check to be made."
An independent environmental company is hired to test the peeling paint using either a radiation gun that gives a lead reading or by sending paint chips to a lab. Both tests are acceptable, Kemp said.
Park said there is a kind of catch-22 with using public-school classrooms for Head Start because lead found in paint is only considered unsafe for preschoolers, who are prone to putting things in their mouths. Head Start is required to fix the problem in order to get or keep its state license. Because the same classroom is considered safe for older children, the DOE is not required to fix the problem.
More than 300 private, licensed preschools statewide are inspected for lead every year, said Kemp, but state-run schools and private educational institutions are exempt.
In cases where a problem is discovered on a DOE campus, steps are taken to keep all the children safe, said facilities director Ray Minami.
"There is still some lead paint in the classrooms; however, it is intact and it's not flaking," Minami said. "If there is a situation where it does become a concern, we address it immediately, especially in the elementary schools."
Minami said many campuses are being renovated and the state is taking care of lead paint in classrooms as they come across it.
Gwen Palmer, director of the state Department of Health's Childhood Lead Poisoning Program, said about 100 children a year in Hawai'i get lead poisoning. Most of the cases result from lead paint in people's homes, Palmer said. It is rare that a child is infected at a preschool, but classrooms must be kept secure.
"According to Centers for Disease Control guidelines, the highest risk is children age 3 and below," Palmer said. "That is when kids put more things in their mouths and are licking everything. As they get older they don't put stuff in their mouth as much. They are growing taller, so they are away from the lead dust that may be on the floor."
Palmer said lead exposure can be hard to detect because there are no symptoms.
For information on making your home safe from lead, call the Health Department at 733-4056 or 733-9027.
