Lead paint has been found in four Canberra schools over the past year. 

The ACT's Education Minister says a system-wide review of hazardous materials in schools has been launched, after unsafe levels of lead were found at Richardson Primary School.

The potentially toxic paint was found in the boiler room and heating ducts of the school.

“The areas connected to this particular heating system are the hall, the library and [two] classrooms ... licensed assessors have conducted tests to check if lead dust has flowed from the heating system to other areas of the school,” the school’s principal Anna Wilson wrote in a letter to parents.

The assessors have deemed the spaces safe to occupy, and affected areas have been cleaned by specialists.

Lead specialist and environmental scientist Professor Mark Taylor says it is relatively common to find elevated levels of lead near older buildings. He says the state should come up with a “sensible” response.

“It appears to me from the information I have seen that there is a lead hazard, as there would be in many people's homes … it only becomes a risk when somebody ingests the lead paint or lead dust,” Professor Taylor said on ABC Radio Canberra.

“So for the children and for the mums and dads who are going to that school, there is a very limited risk.

“It is a hazard that needs clean up, but for the hazard to present as a risk there needs to be an exposure pathway — people have to eat or ingest the lead dust and the lead paint.

“There is a very limited risk here ... it is not a panic situation by any stretch.”

Education Minister Yvette Berry said an expert panel has been formed to guide asbestos and lead paint removal, with $15 million committed to the issue at the ACT election.

“We already know where they are. The majority of our schools, any schools built before 1992 ... will have some sort of hazardous material, and all of them have hazardous material plans,” Ms Berry said.

“We take the advice of experts when it comes to things like managing lead paint and asbestos.”