By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Milwaukee will temporarily close two more elementary schools as it works to tackle a lead crisis in its public school buildings.<\/p>\n
The school district announced Monday that Westside Academy and Brown Street School will close for repairs. Two other schools \u2014 Starms Early Childhood Education Center and LaFollette School \u2014 had already been closed. So far, nine schools have been flagged for lead hazard work, and students are being moved while repairs are being made, CNN <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s school district and health department are checking about 100 schools built before 1978, when lead was banned in paint. They expect inspections and repairs to continue through the summer.<\/p>\n Superintendent Brenda Cassellius<\/a> said 54 schools built before 1950 are scheduled to be cleaned before the next school year. Another 52 schools built between 1950 and 1978 are expected to be cleaned by year’s end.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are asking families to remain vigilant and to please have their children tested for lead exposure,\u201d Cassellius said. Families can use their doctor or pop-up clinics organized by the city.<\/p>\n Lead is dangerous even at low levels. High levels can cause nausea, vomiting and seizures. Lower levels can harm a child\u2019s brain, affecting learning, attention and behavior, CNN <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n The district’s new plan<\/a> starts with a visual inspection of every building. Schools are then rated as low, medium or high risk. Those at medium or high risk will get extra testing and may need full or partial closures for cleanup.<\/p>\n The district is also creating a plan to test adults who work in the buildings, like custodians.<\/p>\n The city had been working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a testing plan, but that support ended after the CDC\u2019s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program was cut. The CDC also turned down Milwaukee’s request<\/a> for emergency help from epidemiologists, due to the cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, in this case, we no longer had the expertise at CDC to support that request,\u201d Eric Pevzner<\/a>, chief of the CDC\u2019s epidemiology and laboratory branch, told CNN.<\/em><\/p>\n Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin<\/a> and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore<\/a> recently urged U.S. health officials to restore CDC lead experts, writing, \u201cYou have the ability to immediately rectify this issue, and we urge you to do so.”<\/p>\n The crisis came to light after a student tested positive for high lead levels late last year. No major sources were found in the child\u2019s home, but peeling lead paint and lead dust were found in the child’s school.<\/p>\n Since then, three more students with elevated lead levels have been reported, though it\u2019s unclear if their schools are the source, CNN <\/em>said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs everyone understands, when we do receive a referral or a complaint, we have to discern whether it\u2019s a poisoning from their home or a secondary address affiliated with that family, or if it\u2019s tied to the school, so those investigations can take a lot of time,\u201d Michael Totoraitis<\/a>, Milwaukee\u2019s commissioner of health, said.<\/p>\n He also explained that acute exposure to lead, like eating flaking paint, usually shows up in blood tests within a month. Chronic exposure, like breathing lead dust, takes longer to appear.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might be kind of scary, but we have a really good track record of seeing those levels come down if they do test high,\u201d Totoraitis added.<\/p>\n Usually, only babies are screened for lead at 1 and 2 years of age, but the city is considering expanding screening to older children. Milwaukee schools and the health department are offering school-based lead testing clinics, with the next one scheduled for May 7.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Health Organization has more on lead poisoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n