MILWAUKEE — With three more Milwaukee Public Schools temporarily closed because of lead contamination, the Milwaukee Health Department is hosting a lead screening clinic.
It’s happening Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Bradley Tech School in Milwaukee.
The clinic is open to students from the seven schools where health officials found unsafe lead levels. Those schools include Golda Meir, Kagel, Trowbridge, Maryland Avenue, Starms, Fernwood and LaFollette.
Milwaukee Health Department Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Health Tyler Weber said when a table is available, the parent and child will meet with a medical tech and the child will get their finger pricked for a blood test.
“Any result that’s above a 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, we will then move them to another station that is a venous draw which then gets sent to a lab for a result later and then we determine what type of intervention might be needed,” said Weber. “Regardless, they will be pushed through, walking to education tables and resources.”
Three MPS students have tested positive for lead poisoning after an investigation was launched in November. According to health officials, all are tied to exposure at MPS campuses.
Weber said he encourages MPS parents to get their children tested. He said this lead screening clinic is a crucial part of their investigation.
“We can say yes, there’s peeling paint,” said Weber. “Yes, there are old drinking fountains. Yes, there is dust piled into that corner, but we don’t know the exact extent of the exposure until we get all of the kids tested.”
The Milwaukee Health Department said it will be able to test up to 440 students at Saturday’s clinic.
