Thousands of children in Milwaukee are feared to have been exposed to a toxin linked to cancer and autism due to crumbling classrooms at school.
At least eight schools were found to have lead-based paint that is chipping and producing toxic dust that when inhaled can lead to a host of health problems.
Several schools have had to temporarily close for remediation efforts after high levels of the toxins were found in students’ blood.
Kat Cisar, a mother of six-year-old twins, learned in February that her children had been exposed. Her kids’ school is one of those that was forced to shut.
The public health crisis emerged late last year. Health officials now plan now is to use the summer to inspect half of the district’s 100 schools built before 1978, when lead paint was banned, in time for classes to go back in the fall.
The remaining schools will be inspected before the end of the year.
But parents are worried that timeline means that young children could potentially be exposed to the toxin known to cause damage to the brain.
Lead has been linked to learning disabilities, along with damage to the kidneys, reproductive, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, and, potentially, autism spectrum disorder.
Kristen Payne, a parent at Golda Meir school where a student tested positive, told the New York Times that she assumed the facilities would be properly maintained, especially after Covid. A student attending Golda Meir School (shown) was poisoned
Since the first child tested for lead late last year, three other children have tested positive.
Cisar’s children have not tested positive for lead poisoning, but she will have to keep an eye on it, according to ABC News.
‘We put a lot of faith in our institutions, in our schools, and it’s just so disheartening when those systems fail,’ Cisar told the outlet.
Her children have attended their school for three years, and exposure builds up over time to compound the health effects.
More lead screenings are being made available in the city, such as at North Division High School. Officials setting up tables there have the capacity to test about 300 students.
The organization Lead Safe Schools told a Fox News affiliate: ‘Until the district, city and state work proactively to address root causes of lead exposure, these testing clinics will be more performative than proactive.
They should be focused on creating meaningful change to prevent kids from being exposed to lead in the first place.
Milwaukee schools’ water has also tested positive for lead, potentially affecting children at water fountains and bathroom faucets.
Lead is poisonous when inhaled, as well as through contact with the skin and ingestion.
Testing showed neither had levels above what the EPA considers ‘actionable’ – 15 parts per billion. Still, no amount of lead exposure is safe, especially over an extended period.
The long timeline for fixing lead-lined school walls means young children could be exposed to a toxin that can harm the brain, cause learning disabilities, and damage the kidneys, heart, reproductive, and digestive systems — and may be linked to autism
The city would generally rely on federal government-funded remediation efforts, starting with input from the CDC.
But the Trump Administration has slashed about 10,000 jobs from the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services, which includes 20 percent of the CDC’s staff.
The city’s health department formally requested assistance from the CDC in March.
The agency could disperse grants to the health department through the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program to fund inspections, remediation work such as stripping the paint, and public education campaigns.
The CDC also offers technical support for testing for lead levels in the blood and water, cleaning safely, and training public health officials, school staff, and environmental inspectors to better handle hazards effectively and safely.
But the CDC’s lead poisoning experts have been fired, and the branch has been gutted.
Dr Michael Totoraitis, the Milwaukee health commissioner, said: ‘There is no bat phone anymore. I can’t pick up and call my colleagues at the C.D.C. about lead poisoning anymore.’
Lead is a constant presence in Milkwaukee, particularly in poorer neighborhoods.
Many buildings were erected in the 1800s and early 1900s when it was a common component of paint and pipes. Lead was banned in the 70s, at which point generations had been exposed
Many buildings were erected in the 1800s and early 1900s when it was a common component of paint and pipes.
Lead was banned in the 70s, at which point generations had been exposed.
Kristen Payne, a parent whose oldest child attends Golda Meir school where a student tested positive, told the New York Times: ‘Frankly, I just sort of trusted that there would have been appropriate upkeep in the facilities, especially following what was happening with Covid.
‘I was really surprised to see the extent of the problem.’
Lisa Lucas, whose daughter attends an elementary school that has been closed for lead remediation, added: ‘Everybody in Milwaukee is aware of lead.
‘There’s lead paint in almost all of the schools and buildings. And nobody has really stepped up, either in the city or the state legislature, to make our city safer and healthier for everybody. That’s the most frustrating part of it.’
