It’s unfortunate but the city of Lawrence is right to seek proposals to clean possible lead contamination in the former indoor gun range in the Lawrence Community Building.

The 1,400 square-foot space has housed the gun range for more than a half century. As weapons were fired there, traces of lead from bullets built up. Testing has shown lead levels inside the range are in some spots 17,000 times greater than what is considered safe by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Douglas County Rifle and Pistol Club leased the space from the city and operated the gun range until February, when city leaders realized the location violated the federal Gun Free School Zones Act, enacted in 1990, because of the building’s proximity to St. John School. Since then the room in the basement of the Community Building has been locked.

The city subsequently tested the area for lead contamination. The results of those tests showed that each of the four samples taken from the room — and one from the public stairway leading down to it — had excessive levels of lead contamination. According to HUD guidelines, lead levels above 40 micrograms per square foot are hazardous, and the five samples taken from the former gun range showed levels from 400 to 681,000 micrograms per square foot.

Even low levels of lead are toxic if ingested. Lead is especially harmful for infants and children; small levels of lead contamination have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The effects of lead exposure cannot be reversed.

“The door is locked and nobody’s going in until we get it cleaned, so I think we’re safe and should be doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” said Ernie Shaw, interim director of the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, which maintains and operates the Community Building.

Shaw expects cleanup of the building to cost thousands of unbudgeted dollars. After the space has been properly cleaned of contaminants, he sees the potential for the space to be used in a variety of ways such an archery range, indoor golf range or spin room for stationary bikes.

Cleaning the Lawrence Community Building basement and identifying a long-term use for the space is worth the investment.