![Soldiers Salute the Flag at Sunset](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/oregon_national_guard_lead.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Hundreds of armories in the United States are contaminated with dangerous levels of lead dust, a problem known to the Defense Department and state National Guard, according to a new report.
An 18-month investigation by the Oregonian found that armories around the country are covered in lead dust. More than 20 workers in a Montana National Guard armory got sick; in two Oregon armories, the neurotoxin levels were up to 10 times the federal safety standard.
The Defense Department and state National Guard officials have known about the danger in these armories since they were alerted in the 1990s, but failed to act swiftly, according to the Oregonian. A review of records found that in the past four years, inspectors discovered lead in 90 percent of armories for which results are available, and in more than 40 percent of those, they found lead outside the firing range.
Read the full investigation here.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Tessa Berenson Rogers at tessa.Rogers@time.com