WISCONSIN — Gov. Tony Evers announced on Tuesday he’s lowering the lead poisoning threshold in the state.

The emergency rule would lower it from 5 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, according to the release.

It puts the state more in line with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which states intervention in lead poisoning cases should be taken at 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.

By adjusting the threshold, it will also help more kids and families get access to services for lead poisoning.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, there were at least 3,272 kids between Nov. 2021 and Feb. 2024 who were affected by lead poisoning that didn’t receive intervention services. That’s because their exposure — between 3.5 and 4.9 micrograms per 100 milliliters of blood — did not meet the definitions of lead poisoning or exposure in the previous threshold.

Another 1,400 kids are expected to have this same level of lead in 2025, DHS estimates. Now, under the new rule, they’ll be able to get assistance.

Evers said he will also direct $6.2 million in his 2025-27 Executive Budget to support lead poisoning efforts through grants to local health departments.

Lead poisoning exposure can have long-term consequences for children, including on their ability to pay attention as well as their learning capacity, according to the CDC. A 2019 study revealed that even low levels of lead exposure during early childhood can affect reading and math scores, with additional schooling “not sufficient” enough to offset this damage.

“There is no safe level of lead exposure for kids,” Evers said in his State of the State address last week.

Evers also announced more funding to combat PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. He said he’ll direct another $5 million in federal funds to the expanded Well Compensation and Well Abandonment Grant Program, created in 2022 to support “replacement, reconstruction, treatment, or abandonment of contaminated private wells.”

The Department of Natural Resources has so far awarded over $9 million to 684 grantees. It has allowed the 393 contaminated wells to be replaced, another 106 to be treated, 182 unused and abandoned wells to be sealed and more.

Grant funding for the next $5 million will open up on Feb. 3, 2025. To find out if you’re eligible, you can take a questionnaire online, here. You can apply, here.

A study by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health found that most Wisconsin residents have PFAS in their bodies. The substances can be found in fire-suppressing foam, nonstick pans and more.

“If we want our kids to bring their full and best selves to our classrooms, elected officials have to start acknowledging how policy decisions and investments—or lack thereof—here in this building affect kids, families, schools, and communities across Wisconsin every day. …” said Evers at his State of the State address.