D.C. officials knew of dangerous lead levels at the city's largest homeless shelter and did nothing, according to an internal review.
Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the review after two children living at the D.C. General facility tested positive for elevated lead levels.
Almost every room tested positive for lead, and while most of those levels were not dangerous, officials were aware of rooms with dangerous levels, the report says.
Testing completed in April 2014 found seven rooms with dangerous lead hazards, but families with children were allowed to live in those rooms.
After lead paint chips were found in a second-floor cafeteria and a common area shared by families, that area was sealed, and Bowser ordered a complete inspection of the building.
The Department of the Environment offered free lead testing to all residents of the shelter. No new cases of lead poisoning in children have been found.
Residents are being notified about the findings in the report. Many of the families that lived in rooms with dangerous lead levels have moved.
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Bowser has ordered new protocols for lead testing and monitoring at all of the city's homeless shelters.
Lead poisoning typically originates with old chipping paint and can cause serious physical and mental problems. It has been linked to low IQs.
More than 200 families with more than 400 young children live in the shelter.
