BUFFALO, N.Y. — The owners of Buffalo Clinical Lab Corp are pushing to get lead testing programs in schools after Buffalo Public Schools acknowledged the presence of lead in the district’s water.

What You Need To Know

  • Buffalo Public Schools announced the presence of lead in the district's water
  • Lead exposure can cause irreversible damage to a child's brain, especially under the age of 6
  • Buffalo Clinical Lab Corp owners are pushing for lead testing in all schools

“When you have a mass amount of students in one place, what better opportunity to test than when they’re all together, in one location, and parents don’t have to do a thing besides sign a consent form,” said Fracensca Gidney, LPN and co-owner of Buffalo Clinical Lab Corp.

The lab is mobile, and can be set up practically anywhere to administer a blood draw, which is necessary for lead testing.

Signs of lead exposure included low I.Q., hyperactivity, behavioral problems and permanent developmental damage to the brain. It affects children 6 and younger the most severely.

“It is important to me for children to be able to go to school and actually learn and receive and retain the information. And unfortunately if they’ve been exposed to lead, they have difficulties in doing so,” said Gidney, a parent herself.

The owners said they are planning to talk with Buffalo Public Schools Interim Superintendent Tonja Williams next week in the hopes of setting up free mobile programs that can test students before the end of the year.

Buffalo Clinical Lab Corp can be reached at 833-662-4522.