On a frigid morning in mid-January, tiny flurries swirled outside the University of Iowa State Hygienic Lab building as an unusual sight, an eighteen-wheeler UPS semi-truck, slowly backed up to the loading dock with a daily delivery of samples. Inside the truck was a record-breaking haul: fifty-five 4’ x 4’ bags containing COVID-19 test kits from Iowans across the state. Each bag contained...

The State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa (SHL) is cross-training staff and operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet testing demands. Since March, the scientists and administrators at the SHL have overcome numerous challenges to provide rapid, high-volume testing to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Iowa. The lab needed to rapidly ramp up its staffing, navigate shifting...

The University of Iowa Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) is offering free lead testing for up to five Iowa elementary schools with older drinking water infrastructure, thanks to Grants to School Program funding that will provide up to $10,000 per school to cover the cost of the work. CHEEC is working with the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) to offer the testing...