The issue of lead paint, has been brought up regarding the Bicentennial Mural.  But what does the Army Corps May 2014 lead Survey have to say about how much lead is actually in the mural?

To start with, the White and Blue paints that make up the majority of the 80,000 sq. foot mural, are in fact NOT lead based paints.

Though the Red paint on the mural was found to be a lead based paint, it was the Yellow graffiti underneath the mural, that actually contained the highest level's.  Per the Corps Survey, the yellow paint is estimated to be less than 1,000 sq. feet.

Mural Showing Location of 1972 Graffiti

Prado Dam Spillway in 1972

In 1972, the Yellow Cal Trans Paint, was used to graffiti "72 Rules" on the Prado Dam Spillway (see photo above).   That same Cal Trans yellow paint was used to paint lines on millions of miles of Southern California roadways.  Since there are already systems in place to pacify or specifically remove any lead paint, this is not seen as an obstacle to restoration.

SOIL ANALYSIS: The soil analysis around the 39 year old mural indicates that no soil sample was above the California Human Health Screening Level of 80 mg/kg for shallow residential soils, and are within background levels for California and Riverside (University of California [UC] 1996).


Beautiful 1976 Mural Sealed in The Lead Graffiti Paint