MILWAUKEE- The levels are not as high as the levels reported earlier in the week at Golda Meir School, but the Milwaukee Health Department still says the levels of lead at Albert E. Kagel School must be treated with the same amount of urgency.
Thursday’s report reveals that lead dust on the ground floor at Kagel School measured at 311.7 micrograms per square foot, still above the normal average of 100 micrograms per square foot.
Deputy Commissioner of Health Tyler Weber says that with testing done at both schools, the Milwaukee Health Department had it’s resources stretched on how many people were able to do the tests.
“Even with better equipment and better processes, we’re still strained on this and so we are very challenged to get in 180 buildings at MPS,” said Weber. “If they are all equivalent to Golda, there’s not enough weeks in the year for us to run all those dust wipe samples. So that alone is a challenge and doesn’t even include the water samples, it doesn’t include the report writing, and then our standard case load on a regular basis. It’s really critical that MPS revisits their lead safety plan.”
As for other schools within the Milwaukee Public School system, Commissioner of the Health Department Mike Totoritis says MHD is putting together a plan to have students at Golda Meir and Kagel screened for lead poisoning with testing site tents.
“Once we have the sites identified, we will get the consents out to the parents at the schools that have already been tested and then we will begin to have the broader conversation of how we will do additional testing sites for the broader community of MPS students,” said Totoritis.
The deadline for MPS’ 5-day hazard control plan for Golda Meir school was on Thursday and the City Health Department said that efforts were being taken to clean as much of the school as possible to remove lead dust.
According to Milwaukee Health Department, tests will continue at Golda Meir School on Friday and then lead tests will take place at Maryland Avenue Montessori School over the weekend.
