Notre Dame students to encourage lead exposure testing

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Students from the University of Notre Dame are set to knock on doors in South Bend this weekend urging families to have children tested for lead exposure.

Dozens of students will hand out fliers on Saturday advertising free testing. The South Bend Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2pVYZdy ) that officials have largely blamed the city's lead problem on lead-based paint in older homes.

The students will target homes in an area where state data have shown a trend of many children being testing with high blood lead levels. That data spurred local health officials to develop a plan to test more children for lead exposure and seek money to fight the problem. Numbers show nearly a third of children there have elevated lead levels.

___

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