Amid the Milwaukee lead crisis, a laid-off CDC scientist volunteered his expertise. It wasn’t so simple

In mid-April, an unusual offer arrived in the Milwaukee health commissioner’s inbox. “I’m writing as a concerned private citizen to offer my support in Milwaukee’s ongoing response to the lead contamination in your schools,” it said. “While I regret that I’m no longer able to assist in my former government role, my commitment to this public health crisis remains steadfast.”

The commissioner, Michael Totoraitis, could have used some help. His department’s regular work hadn’t stopped. In a few days, there were two restaurants to close temporarily, one for rodent reasons, another for cleanliness violations, a tuberculosis case whose contacts needed tracing, and the countless other largely invisible tasks involved in forestalling public health messes before they occurred. But mostly there was the gargantuan job of figuring out which of the district’s 68,000 public school students were likeliest to have been exposed to lead dust and most urgently needed testing and follow-up. 

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