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Lead and Healthy Homes Division
Protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. No level of lead in the blood has been found to be safe. Lead is a naturally occurring metal that can be found in the air, soil, dust and paint inside or outside of some homes and other buildings built before 1978. Too much lead exposure can cause serious health problems, but fortunately, lead toxicity can be prevented. Lead is toxic to everyone, but because their bodies are still developing and growing rapidly, lead is especially toxic to unborn babies and to young children less than six years of age. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to seriously harm a child’s health and cause adverse effects.
The primary goals of the IDOH Lead and Healthy Homes Division are to track the prevalence of lead exposure in children throughout Indiana and to support local health departments and community partners in taking the necessary steps to promote primary prevention efforts to minimize that exposure and the resulting health risks. This is done through education, proactive screening, treatment, case management, and the remediation of lead hazards.