Lead is toxic to the nervous system and is especially harmful for young children. HB 1378 would have required Indiana’s preschools and childcare facilities to test their drinking water for lead and take action if the lead concentration was high.
Lead poisoning permanently damages a child’s developing brain leaving them with lower intelligence and a higher risk of attention deficit and behavior problems. Currently, more than 2,000 Hoosier children per year are lead poisoned. That is a burden for those children, who won’t achieve their full potential, and an economic loss for society in medical care, remedial education, and lost opportunity. In a recent Indiana study, 62% of the 915 school buildings tested had at least one tap or water fountain with high levels of lead. It’s time to check the water in preschools and childcares.
If HB 1378 did not have a hearing in committee, so it did not move forward.
TAKE ACTION:
Learn more about how to protect the children in your life from lead.