If you received our postcard or letter in the mail, you are eligible to participate. Your home was selected at random, from eligible homes in your area. If you want to participate, please enroll as soon as possible. A limited number of test kits are available.
You can still participate. There is no requirement that children live in the household.
Only people who have received a postcard or letter about this study in the mail can participate. Unfortunately, we are limited in the number of test kits we can provide and want to ensure we cover a range of households in your county.
You will hear back from us by the end of summer to let you know if you have been selected to receive a free test kit and with information about next steps.
Unfortunately, we have a limited number of test kits we can provide. If you are not selected, we will keep you on a waitlist until all kits from selected participants are returned. If participants withdraw or are not able to complete the study and more kits become available, we will contact you.
You may also contact your local health department to learn about free or at-cost lead testing options in your area.
If you are encountering issues with our short online enrollment form, visit our contact page to send us a message or leave a voicemail with detailed information about your question, and your contact information at +1-855-997-3184. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
You may leave the study anytime. If you decide you no longer want to participate in the study, please contact us as soon as possible to let us know. We will remove all information given by you or related to your samples from our study records. To contact us, you may visit our contact page to send us a message or leave a voicemail and contact information at +1-855-997-3184.
We have many options to get your questions answered! You can send us an email or text through the form on our Contact Page at https://www.cleanwaterforuskids.org/healthyhomes/contact. You can also give us a call at +1-855-997-3184. Finally, you can find more information on our about page.
We will send you a sampling kit by UPS. Any adult in the household can collect the samples. The person collecting samples should watch each of our short instructional videos or attend one of our live webinars. You will also receive printed instructions in the box with the sampling kit.
You will collect samples of your kitchen tap water, dust from your floors and windowsills, and soil from your yard (if available). The instructions included in your test kit detail step-by-step how to take the samples. Please also join our live webinar trainings.
Read our instructions thoroughly before you sample. The instructions included with your test kit will outline everything you need to do.
We will provide optional online live webinar trainings, where we talk to participants about what will be in their test kits and tell them how to use them. You do not have to attend one of these to receive your test kit, but we recommend joining if you can.
We estimate that it will take less than one hour to do the sampling. View our short sampling videos, to see what is involved.
You can collect soil from any areas around your house, as long as there is bare soil about one foot (12”) from the building wall. If there is mulch or another covering over the soil, push it to the side before collecting the soil sample.
Mistakes happen! Please write on the chain-of-custody form anything you did that was different from the instructions. You can also contact us to let us know, so we can help make any adjustments. To contact us, visit our contact page to send us a message or leave a voicemail and contact information at +1-855-997-3184.
You should not flush your water prior to sampling. If you are testing for lead, levels in drinking water may vary throughout the day. They are likely to be higher the longer water has been sitting, unused, in the pipes. To capture these higher levels, water samples are collected first thing in the morning at a home. It is important to sample before any water is used in the home.
You must use a tap that is not filtered. We encourage you to use the tap that you use most often for drinking or cooking, like your kitchen tap. If your kitchen faucet is filtered, however, any tap in your home that does not have a filter is okay to use.
If you have a whole-house water filter, take your sample from the kitchen tap, and make a note on the chain-of-custody document to let us know what kind it is.
Step 1: Complete the chain of custody document for all samples.
Step 2: Repack the Test Kit Box. You will re-use the shipping box and zipper bags that your test kit came in. Check to make sure each sample container is closed tightly first. Put the water sample bottle in its own bag. Zip each bag to seal it well. Place the bag in the box. Put the chain of custody document and the signed informed consent form in the paperwork bag and seal it, so they don’t get wet. Place this bag in the box as well.
Step 3: Apply the Return Mailing Label. Place the provided return UPS mailing label on the box, over the label from shipping the box to you. Close the box using strong shipping tape to thoroughly reseal the top flap before shipping.
Step 4: Schedule a UPS Pickup. Call the same day that you take the samples. If your samples do not arrive at the lab within 10 days, we will not be able to analyze them and we will not be able to get you your results.
There's no charge for you to ship these samples to the lab. The return mailing label is prepaid. Schedule a pickup at UPS.com and follow their instruction OR call UPS at 1-800-742-5877 after 7am. If you schedule before 10am, UPS will come the same day. You need to give UPS your phone number and the tracking number from the shipping label. Write down the confirmation number.
Step 5: Take the Box Outside for Pickup. Place the box outside of your home where you typically leave packages for UPS pickup or receive them from mail carriers. A location in the shade is ideal.
Please contact us if your test kit is broken or lost. To contact us, visit our contact page to send us a message or leave a voicemail and contact information at +1-855-997-3184.
We expect to provide your results within 6 months from when we receive your samples.
Results from this study will help our study team create computer models that predict which homes are likely to have high levels of lead in water, soil, and/or dust. These models will help people in your community and others in the future. The models will also help public health departments know where to reach out to people to offer testing and help to fix home lead hazards. Your participation is appreciated!
We are happy to talk with you about your results. To contact us, visit our contact page to send us a message or leave a voicemail with your question and contact information at +1-855-997-3184. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
You can also consider talking with officials in your local health department or your physician.
Your results are confidential. They are only accessible to you and members of our research team at Indiana University, NC A&T, and RTI International. Your results will be de-identified for use meaning that no one outside of our research teams will be able to link your results to your address or contact information.
The PREDICT Healthy Homes study is a collaboration between researchers from Indiana University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) and RTI International, a nonprofit research organization based in North Carolina. We have partnered with local organizations in each of the study counties as well.
This study is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Lead Technical Studies grant program.
There is no cost to you to participate. Grant funds cover the costs associated with sampling and analysis.
Lead is a toxic metal used in many products and materials. There are many sources of lead exposure, including:
- Paint in pre-1985 housing
- Chipping and peeling paint
- Children's jewelry, and painted toys
- Food items grown in contaminated soil
- Old pipes and fixtures
- Glazed pottery
- Industry
- Car batteries
- Leaded gasoline
- Some jobs and hobbies