Chicago teaming up with Prism Health for two-year childhood lead exposure testing pilot program

Lead poisoning in children can lead to serious problems like learning disabilities, speech problems, and delayed growth. In Chicago, lead exposure disproportionately affects some communities more than others.

That's why the city launched a two-year program to change that.

All of Chicago uses one source for drinking water, but between all of the different channels from Lake Michigan to your home tap, some areas end up with higher likelihoods of lead exposure.

A new pilot program is trying to improve the health of those children in those neighborhoods by bringing lead testing directly to their families.

It only takes a matter of seconds to find out if a child has high levels of lead in their blood.

"You can't smell lead, you can't see it, you can't taste it, and it's really disproportionately epidemiologically affects children ages 0 to 6 years old," said Prism Health president Zul Kapadia.

Staff at Prism Health are partnering with the city of Chicago, United Way, and others to bring lead testing – which starts with a simple fingertip blood prick – to six South Side neighborhoods with higher numbers of untested kids.

"There's always a few families who do test for elevated lead exposure levels," Kapadia said.

It's one of the ways the city is working to lower lead exposure.

On Thursday, Chicago Department of Water Management crews were working to replace lead water supply pipes in the Old Irving Park neighborhood, but the department's commissioner recently told the City Council that they are targeting a key demographic – daycares.

"With the goal of replacing lead service lines at every licensed daycare in Chicago, our daycare program prioritizes those in lower income census, but will perform replacements for any qualified operator that requests one," Water Commissioner Randy Conner said.

Officials hope early detection and intervention could lead to lead-free futures.

"Simple prevention can take a child health to a very, very normal growth, and that is what is needed," said Dr. Mehbub Kapadia, executive officer at Prism Health.

You can sign up for one of Prism Health's free mobile clinics on their website or for a free home water test kit on from the Chicago Department of Water Management.

If you have a church, daycare, or community center that caters to kids under 6 years old, they want to hear from you to set up a testing clinic during this two-year pilot.