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August 25, 2010

Orange library reopens after lead paint fix

http://www.nj.com
Published: Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 6:10 AM
Aliza Appelbaum/For The Star-Ledger

ORANGE — After shutting down for two months to clean up chipping lead paint found peeling from the walls, the Orange Public Library has reopened in time for the new school year.

The remediation cost $43,000 and came from the library’s budget, said John Mason, Orange business administrator.

Built in 1901, the Orange Public Library at 348 Main St. is Essex County’s oldest and is registered as a national historic site. Lead-based paints were in common use in buildings constructed before 1978, said Vincent DeFilippo, Orange health inspector.

“The concern was that the paint might be coming down to the floor and that a kid might be exposed to it,” DeFilippo said.

After the Orange health department got a call that there was chipping lead paint in the library, inspectors visited in May to determine the severity of the problem, DeFilippo said. A contractor, Paterson-based Alpine Painting and Sandblasting, treated the library walls by covering up the harmful lead paint with a coat of lead sealant paint, he said.

Several sites in the building were then tested by doing a dust wipe, to see if there are any lead particulates left in the dust, he said. Though the library did not pass on the first try, the wipes eventually turned up clean last month, and the library was able to reopen July 12

Posted by tumulty at August 25, 2010 10:39 AM

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