Wendy Ruderman

From harmful dust to toxic fumes, poor oversight is blamed as school repairs make the same mistakes again and again.

At aging Philadelphia schools, asbestos is a lurking health threat to children and staff. Tests find alarming levels, even after repair work is done.

At aging Philadelphia schools, asbestos is a lurking health threat to children and staff. Tests by the Inquirer and Daily News at 11 schools found alarming levels of fibers in settled dust, even after repair work was done.

Many Philadelphia schools are incubators for illness, with environmental hazards that endanger students and hinder learning.

Toxic City is supported by grants from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism and the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism....

Breakneck construction in Philadelphia has unearthed a toxic legacy, coating playgrounds and backyards with dangerous levels of lead dust.

In the wake of reporting from two National Fellows, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Monday that the city will begin to enforce a four-year-old law that requires landlords to certify that their properties are lead-safe before renting to families with young kids.

With more than 90 percent of Philadelphia homes built before the nation's 1978 lead-paint ban, the city struggles to eradicate childhood lead poisoning and ranks among the top U.S. cities for children at risk.

Data recently made public by Philadelphia's school district showed that nearly 15 percent of water samples taken from school drinking water outlets had lead higher than the legal level for home tap water. This needs to change.

In Philadelphia, thousands of children are newly poisoned by lead year after year — at a far higher rate than those in Flint, Michigan.