MPS lead crisis; CDC denies Milwaukee's request for help due to layoffs

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Health Department invited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Centers for Disease Control to help with its lead investigations.

But now, those experts aren't coming.

It means the city is delaying the next big lead screening event by a week or two.

But, there's more: the city says now it's missing out on national expertise.

Federal assistance canceled

What we know:

In March, the city sent a formal request to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for help.

On April 3, the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health wrote to the MHD, saying:

"I sincerely regret to inform you that, due to the complete loss of our Lead Program, we will be unable to support you with this EpiAid request."

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Commissioner Mike Totoraitis of the Milwaukee Health Department provided more information on Monday, April 14, regarding the CDC’s denial of the Milwaukee Health Department's Epi-Aid request.

"Really disappointed to have received that notification. It was a difficult email to see," said Commissioner Mike Totoraitis. "To see that all of our partners at the CDC have been let go was pretty difficult. At this point, we don't have any contacts at the CDC for childhood lead poisoning. It's a pretty stark moment for us in the department to not have someone to reach out to federally."

MPS lead exposure

The backstory:

The MHD recently identified seven schools with unsafe lead levels. Three remain closed. They are LaFollette, Starms Early Childhood Center and Fernwood Montessori. They will remain closed even after spring break, said Tyler Weber, MHD deputy commissioner. Students are attending classes in other buildings. 

"We are very nervous with what we've seen, and we've also seen more unsafe lead practices," said Weber said. "That's why we said we need to shut down and do this right."

Now what?

What they're saying:

"There were some programs that were cut, that are being reinstated, and I believe that’s one of them," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. "All of these programs. CDC, NIH and CDC were not doing their jobs, and there was tremendous redundancy. For example, we had over 100 communications departments, we had 40 procurement departments, we had dozens of IT departments and dozens of HR departments. Most of the cuts are to those administration sections, which are now consolidating or eliminating the redundancies. If we made mistakes, we’re going to admit it, and we’re going to remedy it. And that’s one of the mistakes."

But 11 days after Kennedy said that, Milwaukee still has not seen federal help for lead.

"At this point, we don't have any contacts with the CDC for childhood lead poisoning. It's a pretty stark moment for us in the department to not have someone to reach out to federally," Totoraitis said. "These are the top, you know, experts in the field for lead exposure, and we have really excellent internal expertise, but these are folks that see lead issues at a much larger scale than we do normally here in Milwaukee."

Dig deeper:

The federal cuts are throughout the Department of Health Services, which includes the CDC. 10,000 HHS jobs got cut through layoffs, and another 10,000 voluntarily left or took early retirement.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the cuts will save taxpayers $1.8 billion a year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still helping inspect MPS buildings.

Weber said they have one new suspected case. The MHD is investigating if it was lead poisoning at home or another MPS school.

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