By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

More than 500 students will move from Heberle Elementary in the West End to the vacant Porter Elementary nearby because lead paint hazards were found at Heberle.

The Cincinnati Department of Health inspected the school March 21 after a preschool student's blood was determined to have an elevated level of lead. Health department officials could not release the details.

No hazardous lead was found at the child's home, said Walter S. Handy Jr., assistant health commissioner.

Parents of all Heberle children are being encouraged to have their children tested for lead blood content. Cincinnati Public Schools arranged to have free blood lead testing for Heberle students next week at Porter.

Heberle students, who are on spring break, were scheduled to resume class Tuesday, but district officials postponed the return to Porter until Thursday to relocate school materials.

Health department officials alerted the district to the hazardous lead levels April 7 at the pre-K-8 school and issued a citation for the district to take corrective action, including replacing older windows or stripping all exterior window sashes.

"The environmental risks were significant," Handy said.

By April 8, the district established a plan to address the health department's concerns. Officials this week decided to relocate the students and staff for the remainder of the year.

The presence of lead paint chips and dust is most harmful to children 6 years old and under because they are most in danger of ingesting those materials, Handy said. Yet anyone exposed to lead is at risk for health problems, which can include behavioral problems and brain damage. Exposure can also result in death, he said.

"But lead levels here (Heb-erle) are nowhere near that severe," Handy said.

District officials plan to clean and test for lead at all pre-1950 schools. Heberle was built in 1929.

"If we had been able to afford doing exterior painting on a routine basis, that probably would've helped," said Michael Burson, the district's director of facilities

E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com