MPS, MHD on their own after CDC denies request for help with lead crisis

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- As the lead crisis continues at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), the city’s health department says it no longer has anyone to contact at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for help.

Mike Totoraitis with the Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) says the department reached out to the CDC immediately after multiple MPS students contracted lead poisoning.

The department made an official request for the nation's top lead experts to come to Milwaukee – but shortly after, it was denied because those lead experts were impacted by the federal layoffs. Totortaitis says the now laid off experts would have been able to see the bigger picture of this lead crisis.

“This is a pretty unprecedented scenario to not have someone to turn to at the CDC,” said Totoraitis. “It was a difficult email to see and actually took it – I was quite shocked when I received the email because we were actually meeting internally.”

Totoraitis says because of how long the paint has been allowed to degrade in the school, he’s concerned about the long-term inhalation effects. The CDC’s lead team would have helped make a plan on how to approach the situation from a bigger picture, including helping with data collection and staffing the testing clinics.

“To be with us in our meetings and help us when we were at the screening clinics, so we were anticipating about 3 to 4 people to be here for I think was 4 to 5 weeks.” said Totoraitis. “We had submitted on the 26th, they acknowledged, received. They started working the request to send staff here and then all of a sudden, overnight on the first, it was all done.”

According to MHD, it’s testing one additional potential case of lead poisoning from a school that wasn’t part of the recent closures. Fernwood, Starms, and LaFollette are yet to reopen after their initial closure five weeks ago.

“This is a really complicated issue and the scope that we’re dealing with is significant,” said Totoraitis.

Totoraitis says MPS has partnered with a third-party contractor to start prioritizing testing at other schools, starting with buildings that have students who are at a higher risk for lead exposure, but a lead action plan is still yet to be released.

For the time being, Totoratis says the department is looking for help anywhere they can, as more than 100 MPS schools remain untested.

“If I’m reaching out to someone today, are they gonna be there tomorrow?” said Totoraitis.