United States: Official requests for assistance about elevated lead levels in the city’s educational buildings from local authorities to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received a surprising response, as reported by HealthDay.
The CDC declined assistance because they lacked sufficient personnel for these tasks.
“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,” Dr. Aaron Bernstein, director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, wrote last week to Milwaukee officials. A copy of the letter was obtained by CNN.
The CDC has run its EpiAid expert program to offer short-term assistance to local agencies that require urgent public health support.
Toxic Lead Discovered in School Buildings
On March 26 Milwaukee submitted a support request after identifying dangerous lead levels during inspections of their school buildings.
CDC denies Milwaukee’s request for help with unsafe lead levels in public schools
— Atheist Girl (@iamAtheistGirl) April 12, 2025
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has denied a request from Milwaukee’s public health department for assistance in managing unsafe lead levels in the city’s public schools, citing… pic.twitter.com/PKQtRD3cmo
Even tiny quantities of lead prove toxic to the brain along with other harmful effects. The human body cannot tolerate any quantity of lead exposure. Building structures constructed before lead-based paint became prohibited in 1978 are likely to contain this hazardous substance.
Program Cuts Impact Federal Response
Dr. Mike Totoraitis from the Milwaukee Health Department collaborated with the CDC for two months on this matter according to CNN. On April 1 the city lost its CDC contact support when federal health employees were among 10,000 people laid off during government budget cutbacks.
According to a CDC epidemiologist who sent an email to CNN they lost all staff members from their entire division during the first day of COVID-19. The new contacts provided through the CDC were unable to state which assistance they could provide to the city according to Totoraitis’s assessment.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressed a potential return of lead prevention programs, as reported by HealthDay.
Lead Exposure in Children: Long-Term Effects and Urgent Need for Intervention
While Milwaukee’s immediate concern is removing lead from school environments, the long-term health consequences for exposed children are equally critical. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lead exposure in children can cause irreversible neurological damage, including reduced IQ, behavioral issues, and learning disabilities. Even low levels of lead in the blood have been linked to attention-related behaviors and poor academic performance.
The CDC had previously emphasized that no amount of lead exposure is safe for children, and early detection through blood testing is crucial. Without CDC support, cities like Milwaukee face delays in both testing and mitigation efforts—putting an entire generation at risk.
Communities that have faced similar crises, such as Flint, Michigan, have shown that early intervention, community education, and federal support are essential for recovery and prevention. Milwaukee’s current situation underscores the need for long-term investment in public health infrastructure and proactive screening programs, especially in older buildings built before the 1978 ban on lead-based paint.
City and Federal Leaders Speak Out
“There are some programs that were cut that are being reinstated, and I think that’s one of them,” Kennedy said on April 3, noting that “there were a number of instances where … personnel that should not have been cut were cut.”
However, Milwaukee was formally refused CDC assistance that same evening.
City Vows to Press On
“While we’re disappointed, [the Milwaukee Health Department’s] work has not stopped,” Caroline Reinwald, a spokesperson for the department, told CNN. “This only underscores the importance of the role local public health plays in protecting communities — and the challenges we now face without federal expertise to call on.”
