Screening clinic will test Milwaukee school children who may have been exposed to high levels of lead

Health officials in Milwaukee are holding a free lead poisoning screening clinic for school children who may have been exposed to dangerous levels of lead at four Milwaukee Public Schools.

One of those schools, Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies, was shut down by the Milwaukee Health Department two weeks ago due to “unsafe lead dust levels.” It will reopen to students and staff Friday after a letter from the health department said the school was now safe.

Meanwhile, staff with the Milwaukee Health Department have been performing visual inspections at other schools in the district to identify potential risks. There are 85 schools in the district that were built before 1978 when lead-based paint was banned. 

“We know that this is an issue in our district,” said Michael Harris, MPS interim chief school administration officer, during a Thursday morning press conference. “Our buildings are old, and we know that there’s required maintenance that is needed, and we are addressing that one building at a time.” 

Lead risk assessments have been performed at Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies, Maryland Avenue Montessori School, Golda Meir Lower Campus and Kagel Elementary School. One student at each of those schools tested positive for lead poisoning.

During a press conference last week, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Mike Totoraitis said health department staff would perform visual inspections and walk-throughs at other schools to check for things like chipping paint. 

“For these additional schools, we are proactively working with the district and ourselves to get ahead and start seeing what’s going on with the rest of the buildings,” Totoraitis said.

Of the schools built before 1978 in the district, 26 are high schools and five are middle schools. The other 54 schools house children in kindergarten through eighth grade or kindergarten through third grade, according to Harris. 

Nearly 70,000 students are enrolled at MPS.

In an email, a Milwaukee Health Department spokesperson said visual inspections at ten schools — all either kindergarten through eighth grade or kindergarten through third grade — will be conducted this week.

Children younger than 6 are “especially vulnerable to lead poisoning,” according to Mayo Clinic. Lead poisoning can affect children’s mental and physical development. 

“We’re going to be really working and focusing on those schools as we continue to engage in this work,” Harris said Thursday. 

Lead dust is often formed as lead paint chips and wears down, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Harris previously told city alders that MPS employs two lead inspectors and five painters, down from more than 15 painters at one point.

Trowbridge safe to reopen

Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies, in the city’s Bay View neighborhood, closed on Feb. 28. Students have been taking classes at Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, seven miles away. 

A lead risk assessment report found all floors on the ground floor, first floor and second floor were considered to be a “dust lead hazard.” The assessment also found all windowsills on the first floor were a “dust lead hazard.” 

A Wednesday letter from the Milwaukee Health Department said the school passed its “clearance check following the latest round of lead hazard remediation and cleaning.”

“The City of Milwaukee Health Department [MHD] has verified that lead dust levels now meet safety standards, allowing the school to reopen,” the letter said.

“MPS will continue enhanced cleaning and maintenance protocols throughout the building to ensure the school remains safe for students and staff,” the letter added.

Clearance checks were also recently performed at Maryland Avenue Montessori School and Kagel Elementary School.

“The majority of tested areas passed clearance standards, with only one area failing — inside a locked janitor’s closet that is not accessible to students,” stated a letter about Maryland Avenue Montessori School.

A clearance check at Kagel Elementary School found, “lead dust levels meet safety standards, and no further remediation is required at this time,” according to a health department letter.

Screening to be held Saturday

The health department will run a free screening Saturday at Bradley Tech High School in Milwaukee with help from Children’s Wisconsin and Sixteenth Street Clinic.  Testing will be open to students at Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies, Maryland Avenue Montessori School, Golda Meir Lower Campus and Kagel Elementary School.

Harris said he expects more than 1,000 students at the four schools to be screened.

Totoraitis said the screening will be a capillary test, or a finger prick. Those results should come back within a few minutes.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a blood lead level greater than 3.5 micrograms per deciliter is a high level for children. If a child does screen for elevated blood lead levels, Totoraitis said another test will be done. Those results will take longer as they have to go to a lab to be processed. 

“Our lead team and our lead nurses will help if there’s case management that is needed right away, and several of our clinical partners will be on hand to help make schedules for primary care visits if they need to have that primary care follow-up afterwards,” Totoraitis said. 

It’s not clear when more screenings could be held at other schools across the district, but Totoraitis still encouraged parents to get their children tested in the meantime.

“This is really a call to action for parents that have younger children in particular to start getting your kids back into your pediatrician to get blood screening,” Totoraitis said.

Around 40 to 50 percent of children in Milwaukee are tested annually for lead poisoning, according to Tyler Weber, the health department’s deputy commissioner for environmental health.

“So we need to increase that,” Weber said.