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Several readers contacted us recently to ask why U.S. Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay — a.k.a. the Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station, located on the North Jetty — has been wrapped in white plastic for weeks on end. 

Is it being fumigated for insects? Is there some sort of biohazard underneath? OMG, is E.T. in there? 

We reached out to U.S. Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay for an answer and were put in touch with Chief Warrant Officer Rob Canepa, who gave us the answer. No insects or aliens, we were told, but there is a health hazard involved: lead paint.

“We’re doing a siding project and taking away all of the lead-based siding from 1936,” Canepa said.

Turns out the stately white building still had the original wood siding from when it was constructed, pre-World War II. As such, it contained layers of the lead-based paint that was standard back then.

The federal government banned consumer use of lead-based paint in 1978, but the stuff is still clinging to a lot of older homes. Exposure to even low levels of lead can cause harm, especially in children, and the dust that’s generated in renovations of such old homes is particularly dangerous. 

Canepa told the Outpost that the Coast Guard is replacing all of the doors and windows on Station Humboldt Bay, along with the siding, and repainting it all with lead-free paint.

“They’re also remodeling all of the bathrooms,” he said. Asked why the work is being done in December, he replied, “That’s just the way the contract started.”

But the project is not stagnant. Canepa said there’s work going on underneath the plastic wrap. “But they had to keep the tarp up because it’s so close to the water,” he said.

The project is expected to be completed by summertime.

If you are looking to remove lead-based paint from your own home, here are some pointers on how to do so safely.