MPS Plans Lead Remediation at 40 Schools This Summer

Several teams of painters, movers and cleaners are working to remove any possible lead hazards at over 40 schools in Milwaukee this summer before students go back to their classrooms in the fall.

The work comes after at least four Milwaukee Public Schools students tested positive for lead poisoning and six schools were temporarily closed to address lead hazards over the past few months. Parents of children who attend district schools recently called the ongoing lead crisis a “state of emergency” and a “serious issue.”

The district has 106 schools that were built before 1978 when lead-based paint was banned. Lead dust is often formed as lead paint chips and wears down, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We’re assuming that all 106 schools have some lead paint in them,” said Mike Turza, interim facilities and management director at MPS.

The Milwaukee Public Schools district released its Lead Action Plan in April. Turza said the district has prioritized cleaning at 54 properties built before 1950.

“Because those are the ones that have the greatest amount of lead paint used and the greatest amount of deterioration in the paint,” Turza said.

After the properties are cleaned, a third-party company will take dust wipe samples at the school to make sure the buildings are safe for children, according to Michäèl Mannan, director of the Milwaukee Health Department Home Environmental Health Program and a consultant with the district.

Mannan said the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will also perform random inspections when work is occurring at schools this summer.

“We’re really putting everyone’s eyes on this to ensure that we do it right from the start, that there’s not a lot of mistakes … All that mistakes do is delay timelines and cost more money,” Mannan said. “So it’s just crucial that we do it all right from the beginning.”

Turza said cleaning is already complete at 10 schools built before 1950. He said they plan to get to the other 44 schools built before 1950 this summer.

MPS is working with a contract construction management firm to complete the work. That firm has hired teams of workers to clean the properties.

Turza said the first phase of the work is at 14 schools and is expected to be complete by mid-July. He believes all the schools built before 1950 will get cleaned before the start of the school year.

“Baring any unforeseen problem — which could happen, as you well know, in a project this size — we are pretty confident that we’ll make it,” Turza said.

The district has spent over $3 million to address the lead crisis so far, according to Turza.

“We’re expecting to spend another $16 million to do the next set of schools,” he said.

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

How they’re doing the work

Turza said the crews are following a rigid process. The first step is decluttering, which takes around three days.

“That’s basically removing all of the old equipment, old books, old materials, from the schools, from the classrooms — and whether it’s obsolete or trash, to get rid of it,” Turza said.

Crews have eliminated over 410,000 pounds of waste so far, according to Turza.

After moving materials and items off the walls and out of classrooms, crews will then “wash the areas down to prevent further dust from spreading.”

“You got to have a clean surface in order for paint to adhere to, and so the whole room needs to be cleaned and wiped down,” Turza said.

Next comes paint stabilization and painting the rooms.

“We’re not just going to be dabbing paint on like cracks or in holes in the wall and things like that,” Turza said. “If necessary, we’re going to have to paint the entire room or a full wall of the room.”

Turza said there’s then a “final cleaning” in the rooms to make sure everything’s “totally free from lead dust.”

Mannan said a certified lead safe renovator is monitoring the work at the schools. There will also be “spot audits” by MPS facilities crews during the work.

“A person is there every single day monitoring the work from start to finish, to ensure all of the work is completed, it’s all done appropriately, that there isn’t any breaches that would cause any contamination anywhere,” Mannan said.

Mannan also said there will be will “multiple” clearances, including from MPS facilities staff as well as from a third-party company. The Milwaukee Health Department will be present during those clearances, according to Mannan.

“And when I say clear, I mean that all the areas have been intact, they’re cleaned appropriately,” Mannan said.

The additional 52 schools that were built between 1950 and 1978 will be inspected and cleaned after the school year starts.

“We feel we could do that … over those months, while keeping the kids in school, doing it on weekends or maybe overnight, not having to transfer kids to other schools or anything else like that,” Turza said.

MPS lead crisis: Here’s how the district plans to clean over 40 schools this summer  was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.