Parents and Guardians - Resources

Learn more about how to prevent lead poisoning and how lead testing works by clicking on the following links:

• Check your home and toddler for lead
• What your child’s capillary blood lead level means
• What your child’s venous blood lead level means
• Blood lead testing is required before starting kindergarten
• Proteja su casa y sus niños pequeños del plomo
• ¿Qué significa el nivel de plomo en la sangre de su hijo cuando la prueba es capilar (tomada del dedo)
• ¿Qué significa el nivel de plomo en la sangre de su hijo cuando la prueba es en la vena?
• Prueba de plomo obligatoria en los niños que comienzan el kínder

Educational Videos

• It's Important to Test Your Child for Lead
• Preventing Childhood Lead Exposures
• Lowering Blood Lead Levels with Good Hygiene and Proper Nutrition
• Repairing Residential Lead Based Paint Hazards
• Lead Exposure Risk Model

Booklet on How to Protect Iowa Families

Lead Poisoning: How to Protect Iowa Familiesis a thorough booklet describing lead poisoning prevention approaches that can be used by parents, tenants (renters), homeowners, contractors and for real estate transactions. This booklet is federally approved for use in Iowa to comply with real estate disclosure requirements. The booklet is also required to be provided prior to most renovation projects occurring in residential and child care facilities built in Iowa before 1978. 

Click on the image to download a copy.

Other sources of lead

• Lead in drinking water
• soil contaminated with lead
• products containing lead
• jewelry containing lead
• artificial turf containing lead
• candy imported from outside the U.S.
• home remedies or traditional medicines

Program Information

• CLPPP Service Area Map and Program Contacts
• Iowa Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance Program

How to Find a Certified Lead Professional

You may want to have your home inspected by a licensed lead inspector. You can hire a professional in one or both of the following ways:

• A paint inspection — Tells you the lead content of every different type of painted surface in your home, but does not tell you if the paint is a hazard or how to deal with it. This is most appropriate when you are buying a home or signing a lease, before you renovate, and to help you determine how to maintain your home for lead safety.

• A risk assessment — Tells you if there are any sources of serious lead exposure such as peeling paint and lead dust, and tells you what actions to take to address these hazards. This is most helpful if you want to know if lead is causing exposure to your family now.

Don’t remodel or renovate until you have learned about lead hazards in your home. Home repairs like sanding or scraping paint can make dangerous lead dust.

Any work to fix lead hazards needs to be done using lead-safe work practices. You may need to hire a certified lead professional to do the work. There is more information about renovation, repair and painting at https://www.epa.gov/lead/renovation-repair-and-painting-program-do-it-yourselfers.

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires individuals and firms who perform abatement projects in pre-1978 target housing and child-occupied facilities to be certified and follow specific work practices. Workers and firms performing RRP activities must also be trained and certified on lead-safe RRP practices. The state of Iowa is approved to manage these certification programs.

Iowa Lead Professional Certification: https://idph.iowa.gov/Environmental-Health-Services/Lead-Professional-Certification

 Certified firms and lead professionals must provide services according to work practices outlined in state rules. Lead Professional Certification ensures that lead inspectors and/or risk assessors and visual risk assessors are properly trained and certified to identify lead hazards and to assure that lead hazards have been remediated. Certification also ensures that lead abatement contractors, lead abatement workers, and lead-safe renovators are properly trained and certified to conduct abatement that will properly eliminate lead hazards, and to conduct renovation, remodeling and painting in a safe manner.

The Iowa Lead Certification Program requires training and certification of lead professionals, including lead inspectors, elevated blood lead inspectors, visual risk assessors, lead abatement contractors, lead abatement workers and lead-safe renovators. It also requires certification of the firms that employ certified lead professionals.

Lists of Iowa Certified Professionals (updated periodically)

• Lead Abatement Contractors
• Lead Abatement Workers
• Lead Safe Renovators
• Sampling Technicians
• Lead Inspector/Risk Assessors
• EBL Lead inspector/Risk Assessors
• Lead Professional Firms

Additional EPA Resources

• https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-abatement-inspection-and-risk-assessment
• https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-abatement-vs-lead-rrp