Data: More children tested for lead in St. Joseph County

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Health department data show that the number of children under age 7 tested for lead in St. Joseph County has more than doubled compared to last year.

From January through March of this year 1,100 students were tested compared with 500 students during the same period last year. The South Bend Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2rMsEs4 ) that test results show what officials have suspected, which is that the problem is confined to parts of South Bend where old homes with lead-based paint are concentrated.

Data show that of the 1,100 children tested this year about 5 percent had elevated blood lead levels. The data also show most of those children live on the northwest side of South Bend.

Lead testing garnered attention after state data found many children with high blood levels on South Bend's northwest side.

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com