Health Department Will Investigate 10 More Schools For Lead Issues

Trowbridge School of Great Lakes Studies. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is preparing to assess lead hazards in more Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) buildings as it seeks to close abatement cases at four schools where serious hazards were already found.

With a series of community partners, it’s also preparing to offer free clinics to test the blood lead levels of children and school staff members.

The issue has come to the forefront after casework on children with highly elevated blood levels pointed at the schools as the primary source of poisoning. Impacted schools include Trowbridge School of Great Lakes Studies, Golda Meir School‘s Lower Campus, Albert E. Kagel School and Maryland Avenue Montessori School. Trowbridge, starting last Monday, was shuttered because of the pervasive nature of the lead dust and a staff member was observed scraping lead paint without any containment measures, but officials say it is now moving toward reopening.

“We’re excited to be working with the district to make a plan for these additional schools,” said MHD Commissioner Michael Totoraitis at a press conference Friday afternoon.

The commissioner said MPS would inform parents at those schools before announcing the formal list. The list, said Totoraitis, includes schools from an MPS priority list and a MHD priority list. The health department list was developed based on the age of the building and the age of students in it. “It’s a pretty basic measure, but that helps us prioritize the schools and then marry that with what the district is looking for as well,” he said.

Lead paint can be found in any building constructed before 1978, which applies to many of the district’s approximately 150 schools. Because of the cost of the comprehensive assessments, MHD would perform visual assessments to identify hazards. “It’s a really good, simple way to quickly go in and assess the school,” said Totoraitis. The assessment process, he said, is governed by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services administrative code.

Totoraitis said the department has reached out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for support with blood lead level sampling and environmental assessments. The lab work on a comprehensive assessment is said to consume $10,000 worth of staff time. “The actual cost for our staff’s time and the additional supplies that we’re using to do sampling and testing, we’re tracking that regularly right now,” he said.

Screening Clinics

The first MHD clinic will be held at Bradley Tech High School, 700 S. 4th St., on March 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The clinic is only open to children and staff from the four impacted buildings.

Additional clinics are available at several locations on different dates and are available to a larger audience than those at the four initial schools.

“Your pediatrician is a great starting point,” said Totoraitis of getting a child’s blood lead level checked. Additional clinics are scheduled at Children’s Wisconsin’s Next Door Clinic, MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary and Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers‘ Parkway and Chavez clinics. Specific details are available on the MHD website.

“We are hoping to do even more after the initial run,” said the commissioner.

Children aged six and under are already expected to get their blood lead level tested annually as part of their annual checkup. But Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health Tyler Weber said only about 40% do.

“We don’t know how many children from MPS schools,” said Weber of where those children may go to school. The deputy commissioner said MHD is seeking to develop a program with MPS that would allow it to share identifying data to match poisoned children with their schools for faster interventions in high-risk situations.

“Part of this is working with the district to make sure we are all using our limited resources wisely,” said Totoraitis.

The city sees approximately 1,200 children annually test positive for blood lead levels in excess of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter. For individuals above 10 micrograms per deciliter, an abatement case is opened and interventions undertaken, which has led to schools for the first time. For individuals registering levels between 3.5 and 10, Weber said MHD provides information and offers a home assessment.

No amount of lead is safe, and the heavy metal poses a substantial risk for children, who can experience developmental delays, learning difficulties, behavioral problems and other serious health issues.

Reopening Trowbridge

While it was not available by the time of publication, MPS and MHD officials said they expected to make an announcement Friday with regard to when Trowbridge, 1943 E. Trowbridge St., would reopen.

“We were very nervous about the movement of lead, from how much lead was there and also the renovation work,” said Weber of why Trowbridge was closed when the other three schools were not.

MHD received its lead test data back less than an hour before the meeting said the deputy commissioner. “55 passes, we have five failures,” he said. “This is significant progress. There is an opportunity possibly to open the school up with some rooms remaining closed.” He later said two of the remaining impacted rooms were not classrooms.

“Our staff at Trowbridge has been working really hard to welcome students back,” said Michael Harris, interim chief school administration officer. Harris said the timing of spring break, which starts March 24, could also impact the reopening plan. He said the relocation of 245 students and up to 40 staff members from the Bay View school to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, 1017 N. 12th St., was going “really well.” He said MPS would like to avoid multiple transitions by bringing students back into the school, but not into their original classroom.

He thanked MHD and Children’s Wisconsin for their support with the clinics. “We encourage our staff to come out to get tested as well,” he said.

Weber said MHD, which normally contracts for residential abatement, said it has learned different strategies for containing lead in schools. That includes a recommendation to MPS to seal all concrete floors to avoid the porous material trapping dust. All impacted schools, said Weber, have now had sealants applied.

MHD said it continues to focus on the child’s home as the first and most likely source of lead poisoning. “Our experience has shown that most children in the city of Milwaukee are exposed to lead at their homes,” said Totoraitis. “This is a unique case and unique circumstances that we’re here today talking about lead poisoning in MPS schools.”

MHD’s school lead website now also offers a request form. The form is the preferred source for parents to submit concerns with lead hazards.

Full assessments for each impacted school are listed on the MHD website.