A painting company and Television Tower Incorporated, the owner of a thousand foot broadcasting structure in Baltimore’s Woodberry neighborhood, will need to pay more than two million dollars for lead paint remediation efforts after a settlement with the state.

The settlement and consent decree require the companies to clean up lead paint chips, inspect the area and monitor the neighborhood for any issues for three months afterward.

The companies must also repeat soil sampling to confirm there is no increase in lead levels.

Skyline is also barred from further lead abatement work in Maryland.

The settlement stems from a 2022 incident where TTI hired Skyline Tower Painting to power wash paint off the structure, causing lead chips to fall down on a quarter mile radius that included areas where children play.

“The tower behind us is one of the most recognizable pieces of the Baltimore skyline,” Maryland Attorney General Anthoney Brown said outside the tower Thursday. “Television Tower Incorporated knew their tower contained lead-based paint by 2012 with that knowledge came a legal obligation to handle it safely.”

Skyline and its president, Christopher Mecklem, pleaded guilty to violating state environmental laws last year.

The company did not use proper protocols to control the removal of the lead paint.

Lead paint is extremely problematic for young children. Repeated low-level exposure can cause harm to the brain, nervous system and development of children, especially under the age of 6. The lead can contaminate the water and soil, harming wildlife as well.

TTI has since obtained a new, lead-accredited contractor to finish the tower painting using a system specifically designed for the tower.

The tower, built in 1959, is part of Baltimore known as TV Hill, where four of the city’s TV stations and two radio stations transmit from.