Lead Prevention

Services
  • Conduct follow-up inspections of the children's homes
  • Provides education to parents, preschool teachers, childcare providers about potential hazards, and ways to access healthcare services.
  • Provides medical and environmental case management for children ages six and under who have been identified withlead poisoning.
  • Regulate the removal of lead from the home
Screen Your Child for Lead Poisoning
You can schedule an appointment by calling 765-423-9222, ext. 1. A screening test is done with blood taken from the finger or arm. If too much lead is in the blood, your child may need treatment.

Service/Program Fees
The lead poisoning program screening is free for children at high risk, up to six years old.

Protect Your Child From Lead
  • Add foods high in iron and calcium to your child's diet. Examples include:
    • Cheese
    • Eggs
    • Fruit
    • Greens
    • Lean meat
    • Milk
    • Potatoes
    • Raisins
  • Clean up chipping and peeling paint inside and outside your home.
  • Clean up lead dust in window sills and on the floor near windows, doorways and woodwork. Use a damp mop or cloth and a phosphate cleaning product.
  • Do not store food in open cans or pottery.
  • If you work with lead, shower and change clothes before coming home. Wash your work clothes separately.
  • Run cold water for a few minutes before using it for cooking and drinking. Do not use water from the hot water tap for cooking, drinking or making formula.
  • Wash your child's toys often. Throw away lead-painted toys.
  • Wash your children's hands before they eat.
When Your Child May be at Risk
  • He/she lives in or visits a home built before 1978 with peeling or chipping paint or lead water pipes
  • He/she lives with someone who works with lead
  • She/he has been around dust from sanding or remodeling of a home built before 1978
  • You live near a highway or industry that uses lead
Other sources of lead are:
  • Bullets
  • Fishing sinkers
  • Foods grown in contaminated soil
  • Foods stored in handmade pottery or open cans
  • Hobbies that use lead, such as ceramics and stained glass
Where Lead Comes From
There are several ways it is possible to contract lead poisoning. The most common ways for lead to get into a body is by breathing it in, or eating it. Lead can be in:
  • Contaminated dirt
  • Drinking water
  • Dust
  • Paint
These are not the only places lead can be found. Toys and furniture with lead-based paint, imported lead-glazed pottery and leaded crystal, some hobby supplies, and cosmetics and some imported candies can contain lead.