Last year, a total of 869 Hoosier children had a confirmed elevated blood lead level (above the standard of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter). Reducing children’s exposure to lead is beneficial because lead is known to slow growth and development, causing brain damage. Children can also develop hearing, speech and behavior issues, impacting a child’s experience in school and life.

As a childcare provider, you are a child’s first exposure to learning, and you should be able to give a child a lead-safe environment so they can be successful.

Improving how providers manage the ways they use chemicals is also important. Chemicals like Lysol and bleach contain toxic substances that pose respiratory issues, affect organs and nervous system, and can irritate skin.

Poor air quality can also trigger asthma attacks in children with asthma. The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) has identified that 9.4% of Hoosier children have asthma at some time in their life. Removing environmental asthma triggers, like dust, pests, pets, chemical irritants, and pollen, helps prevent asthma attacks.

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Contact Information

Jocelyn Keranen, Environmental Health Director
jkeranen@hecweb.org  |  317-685-8800

This program was supported in part by Cooperative Agreement NUE1EH001382 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC (Centers for Disease Control). Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the CDC.