Governor sets deadline for lead problem at armories

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has set a Jan. 31 deadline for the National Guard in Oregon to post test results and cleanup schedules for lead at armories.

The Oregonian reported (http://bit.ly/2gWqFxs) Friday that Brown calls the handling of the problem “absolutely unacceptable.”

Roy Swofford is the Oregon Military Department’s head of armory maintenance.

Officials say that children visited two armories that inspections showed were filled with lead dust.

Officials say the Coos Bay armory hosted a sleepover for elementary school students in May 2015 and that kids spread their sleeping bags on floors with high lead levels.

Officials say Swofford also allowed children to visit the Forest Grove armory after inspectors told him to keep the public out.

Swofford declined to comment to the newspaper.

Nine armories around the state, including Bend’s, have been closed to public events due to the recent revelations, apparently tied to firing ranges.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com