For over 100 years, lead smelters and factories in Omaha deposited 400 million pounds of toxic lead across the city's east side — creating the country's largest residential lead cleanup site. Despite this, Nebraska is one of the few states without a law requiring all children to be tested for lead exposure, leaving most kids in the affected area untested and at risk of brain damage, developmental delays, and behavioral issues that could have been caught and managed early. Thirteen neighboring states including Iowa have passed universal screening laws and seen significant increases in kids tested and identified with elevated lead levels after doing so. A local health official is planning to propose a city ordinance this summer requiring testing for children under 7 in the contaminated zone, but without state-level action, widespread screening remains voluntary.