Indiana Collaboration for Lead Action and Prevention
The University of Notre Dame, Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indiana State University, IU School of Medicine—Terre Haute, and the Indiana State Department of Health, with funding from Housing and Urban Development (HUD), have partnered to create the Indiana Collaboration for Lead Action and Prevention. Through this partnership, residents of four Indiana counties, Marion, Vermillion, Vigo, and St. Joseph, will receive free Lead Screening Kits so they can collect and submit samples of dust, water, paint, and soil for analysis.
To learn more about lead in and around your home, pick up a Lead Screening Kit and collect samples. Researchers will analyze samples, then residents will receive a full report detailing what they found. If elevated lead levels are detected, they will provide a list of strategies to help residents reduce exposure to lead.
Screen Your Home for Lead:
How to Participate
Marion County Residents
Pick up your Lead Screening Kit from one of 18 Indianapolis Public Library locations on this map. If you would like your organization in Marion County to be a sample drop-off site for Lead Screening Kits, contact Angela Herrmann at 317-278-4911.
Kudos to our community partners:
- Indianapolis Public Library
- Indianapolis Recorder
- Marion County Public Health Department
- Minority Health Coalition of Marion County
- Side Effects and WFYI Public Media
Would you like to partner with us? If so, contact Angela Herrmann at 317-278-4911.
Download a media kit for the Marion County project.
If you have a Kit and need help collecting samples, check out these videos!
St. Joseph County Residents
If you are a resident of St. Joseph County, contact Jocelyn "Jo" Keranen at 206-734-7418 to coordinate the pickup of a Lead Screening Kit.
Vermillion and Vigo Counties
If you are a resident of Vermillion or Vigo County, please write to ISU-EES@mail.indstate.edu to find out how you can participate.
If you have completed a Lead Screening Kit, you may drop it off at the ISU Center for Sustainability at 219 N. 11th St. in Terre Haute (aka The Garden House at the community gardens) between 8:30 am and 4 pm Monday through Friday.
The Bigger Picture
Given the importance of lead poisoning as a public health issue, a community-powered science approach is the foundation for this project. Residents directly engage in collecting data to help extend the reach of researchers' while helping residents gain knowledge, increase awareness, and help solve the persistent issue of lead poisoning. Be sure to check out our other lead screening projects!
Further Learning and Resources
Calculate the value of lead interventions
- Preventing Childhood Lead Exposure: Costs and Benefits
Created by Altarum with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Community Resources
- Mission Unleaded: From the Marion County Public Health Department
- Marion County Public Health Department Blood testing
- Lead Protection Program-Indiana
Free program for qualified homeowners, rental occupants, and rental property owners. Lead hazard repair work may include windows, doors, painting, and special cleaning. You may participate whether you own or rent your home. Download the application to learn more. - Garden Safe Garden Well
Sembrado Seguro
An Urban Gardening Guide in English or Spanish - What is your household risk for lead exposure?
Find out with this Lead Screening App.
Media
- Decades After Ban, Lead Paint Lingers
Side Effects Public Media, 2016 - Lead: Lead poisoning is a national problem
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 2016
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Centers for Disease Control Resources
Indiana Department of Health
Research
- Filippelli, G. M., Adamic, J., Nichols, D., Shukle, J., & Frix, E. (2018). Mapping the urban lead exposome: a detailed analysis of soil metal concentrations at the household scale using citizen science. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(7), 1531.
- Tighe, M., Knaub, C., Sisk, M., Ngai, M., Lieberman, M., Peaslee, G., & Beidinger, H. (2020). Validation of a screening kit to identify environmental lead hazards. Environmental Research, 181, 108892.