Lead Findings Spur Closures at Some Parks

After a survey of 400 Los Angeles city parks, parts of six were closed when inspectors found paint with dangerous levels of lead, a known health hazard for young children, officials said Wednesday.

The temporary closures, expected to last until mid-January, involve portions of playgrounds and day-care centers, including full-size trains at Travel Town in Griffith Park.

The cost of removing the lead-bearing paint and repainting is estimated at $400,000.

Also affected are parts of the Sylmar Recreation Center, Shadow Ranch Park in West Hills, Rustic Canyon Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, Banning Park in Wilmington and Echo Park. City-run day-care centers are at five of the sites, where parents were urged to test children as a precaution if they ate with unwashed hands after playing in the dirt.

Councilman Mike Feuer said the city will notify parents in writing of the concern and plans to remedy problem sites.

The partial closures were made on the advice of the county Department of Health Services, which conducted the tests.

“It’s a concern,” said John Schunhoff, chief of operations for the county agency. “They [parents] should not panic because the likelihood of lead poisoning from these sources is not high.”

Health officials said lead poisoning can lead to learning disabilities and serious health problems if the lead is ingested or inhaled over long periods and at high levels. Schunhoff said parents who want reassurance should ask their doctor to do a routine blood test to determine the level of lead exposure of their child.

“I would suggest that parents, the next time their children see a physician, should get them tested,” Schunhoff said.

County health officials did not order any buildings closed, and day-care classes in five recreation centers will continue while problem paint is painted over or otherwise sealed.

The funds will be spent to remedy the situation over the next two or three weeks, according to Richard Sessinghaus, acting general manager of the city Recreation and Parks Department.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to meet the comfort level of people,” Sessinghaus said. Beginning today, visitors to Travel Town and other parks may not be able to use all of the facilities. The vast majority of playground equipment and park buildings in Los Angeles was painted after 1978, when health concerns over lead-based paint led to it being outlawed by the federal government. The Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the manufacture of household paints with more than 600 parts per million of lead.

Feuer, who on Wednesday held a two-hour hearing on the problem in Los Angeles, said children 6 years of age and under are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning.

The bodies of younger children retain more of the lead when they breathe lead-based paint dust or put their hands into their mouths after touching a lead-contaminated surface, Feuer said.

After other cities identified park sites with lead problems, the City Council asked Sessinghaus to survey the city’s 400 parks for potential problems. The survey involved a cursory inspection, with no chemical tests, and graded parks based on those where young children play and where chipping and peeling of old paint is significant.

That survey was followed by chemical tests at the six parks, measuring paint, soil and dust against the county standard of 600 parts per million and the federal standard of 1,500 parts per million.

Facilities with problems include:

* Sylmar Recreation Center, where paint on exterior door jams of the North Day Care/Preschool Building exceeded the county standard. In the center’s South Day Care Building, paint on interior walls, ceilings, door jams and stairwells exceeded county standards, with some samples reaching 5,800 parts per million. Blue and orange paint on metal playground equipment was measured up to 53,000 parts per million. The equipment will be closed.

* At Shadow Ranch Park in West Hills, paint on exterior walls and window trim contained levels of 19,000 parts per million to 97,000 parts per million, causing inspectors to recommend an exterior play area be closed.

* Rustic Canyon Park, where paint on interior walls in the library, lobby, gym and game room had levels of 1,700 parts per million to 3,300 parts per million.

* At Travel Town in Griffith Park, paint on the exterior of full-size train engines and passenger cars had levels of from 870 to 200,000 parts per million. The county recommended closing access to all of the large trains, but did not find a problem on the miniature railroad or other Travel Town features.

* Echo Park, where high levels were found on sections of interior surfaces of the day-care center.

Feuer said day-care centers have strict hygiene and cleaning rules that probably reduce the risk of dust contamination.

“Dust is a problem and if kids put their hands in the dust and then into their mouths, that’s an issue,” Feuer said.

At Rustic Canyon Park, high levels of lead were found in the paint on chairs used by children. Although there was no chipping or dust, the city will replace the chairs.

The six sites with the worst problems received an “A” grade on a scale of “A” to “D” with “A” being worst. Another 50 sites received “B” grades and will be examined closer in the next few weeks.

“By and large, if your child does not engage in a lot of hand-to-mouth activity . . . there is a far less likelihood” of contact with any significant lead, Feuer said.

Residents can get more information by calling county health officials at (800) 524-5323. Information on the specific park sites can be obtained by calling the Recreation and Parks Department at (213) 485-5555.