Environment International, 2013

Urban environments are the major sites for human habitation and this study evaluates soil lead (Pb) and blood Pb at the community scale of a U.S. city. There is no safe level of Pb exposure for humans and novel primary Pb prevention strategies are requisite to mitigate children's Pb exposure and health disparities observed in major cities. We produced a rich source of environmental and Pb exposure data for metropolitan New Orleans by combining a large soil Pb database (n=5467) with blood Pb databases (n=55,551 pre-Katrina and 7384 post-Katrina) from the Louisiana Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (LACLPPP). Reanalysis of preand post-Hurricane Katrina soil samples indicates relatively unchanged soil Pb. The objective was to evaluate the New Orleans soil Pb and blood Pb database for basic information about conditions that may merit innovative ways to pursue primary Pb exposure prevention. The city was divided into high (median census tract soil≥100 mg/kg) and low Pb areas (median census tract soil b 100 mg/kg). Soil and blood Pb concentrations within the high and low Pb areas of New Orleans were analyzed by permutation statistical methods. The high Pb areas are toward the interior of the city where median soil Pb was 367, 313, 1228, and 103 mg/kg, respectively for samples collected at busy streets, residential streets, house sides, and open space locations; the low Pb areas are in outlying neighborhoods of the city where median soil Pb was 64, 46, 32, and 28 mg/kg, respectively for busy streets, residential streets, house sides, and open spaces (P-values b 10 −16). Pre-Katrina children's blood Pb prevalence of ≥5 μg/dL was 58.5% and 24.8% for the high and low Pb areas, respectively compared to post-Katrina prevalence of 29.6% and 7.5%, for high and low Pb areas, respectively. Elevated soil Pb permeates interior areas of the city and children living there generally lack Pb safe areas for outdoor play. Soil Pb medians in outlying areas were safer by factors ranging from 3 to 38 depending on specific location. Patterns of Pb deposition from many decades of accumulation have not been transformed by hastily conducted renovations during the seven year interval since Hurricane Katrina. Low Pb soils available outside of cities can remedy soil Pb contamination within city interiors. Mapping soil Pb provides an overview of deposition characteristics and assists with planning and conducting primary Pb exposure prevention.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Lead (Pb) is extremely toxic and a major cause of chronic diseases worldwide. Pb is associated with health disparities, particularly within low-income populations. In biological systems, Pb mimics calcium and, among other effects, interrupts cell signaling. Furthermore, Pb exposure results in epigenetic changes that affect multigenerational gene expression. Exposure to Pb has decreased through primary prevention, including removal of Pb solder from canned food, regulating lead-based paint, and especially eliminating Pb additives in gasoline. While researchers observe a continuous decline in children’s blood lead (BPb), reservoirs of exposure persist in topsoil, which stores the legacy dust from leaded gasoline and other sources. Our surveys of metropolitan New Orleans reveal that median topsoil Pb in communities (n = 274) decreased 44% from 99 mg/kg to 54 mg/kg (P value of 2.09 × 10−08), with a median depletion rate of ∼2.4 mg⋅kg⋅y−1 over 15 y. From 2000 through 2005 to 2011 through...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2017

This study appraises New Orleans soil lead and children's lead exposure before and ten years after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. Introduction: Early childhood exposure to lead is associated with lifelong and multiple health, learning, and behavioral disorders. Lead exposure is an important factor hindering the long-term resilience and sustainability of communities. Lead exposure disproportionately affects low socioeconomic status of communities. No safe lead exposure is known and the common intervention is not effective. An essential responsibility of health practitioners is to develop an effective primary intervention. Methods: Pre-and post-Hurricane soil lead and children's blood lead data were matched by census tract communities. Soil lead and blood lead data were described, mapped, blood lead graphed as a function of soil lead, and Multi-Response Permutation Procedures statistics established disparities. Results: Simultaneous decreases occurred in soil lead accompanied by an especially large decline in children's blood lead 10 years after Hurricane Katrina. Exposure disparities still exist between children living in the interior and outer areas of the city. Conclusions: At the scale of a city, this study demonstrates that decreasing soil lead effectively reduces children's blood lead. Primary prevention of lead exposure can be accomplished by reducing soil lead in the urban environment.

Science of The Total Environment, 2007

Metropolitan New Orleans is unique because it has a universal blood lead (BL) screening dataset (n = 55,551) from 2000-2005 spatially coupled with a soil lead (SL) dataset (n = 5467) completed in 2000. We evaluated empirical associations between measurements of SL and BL exposure responses of children in New Orleans by stratifying the databases by Census Tracts and statistically analyzing them with permutation methods. A consistent curvilinear association occurred annually between SL and BL with robust significance (P-values b 10 − 23 ). The mathematical model of the pooled BL datasets for 2000-2005 is: BL = 2.038 + 0.172 × (SL) 0.5 (agreement (ℜ) of 0.534, an r 2 of 0.528, and a P-value of 1.0 × 10 − 211 ) indicating that chance alone cannot explain the association. Below 100 mg/kg SL children's BL exposure response is steep (1.4 μg/dL per 100 mg/kg), while above 300 mg/kg SL the BL exposure response is gradual (0.32 μg/dL per 100 mg/kg). In 1995, the BL prevalence was 37% ≥ 10 μg/dL for the most vulnerable poor and predominantly African-American children. In the era of universal screening the prevalence of elevated BL is 11.8% ≥ 10 μg/dL for the general population of children. The SL map describes community variations of potential BL exposure. If health effects occur at BL ≥ 2 μg/dL, then 93.5% of the children in New Orleans are at risk. These results reinforce the proposal that prevention of childhood Pb exposure must include SL remediation as demonstrated by a New Orleans pilot project and a proactive Norwegian government program.

Science of The Total Environment, 2011

Previous studies identified a curvilinear association between aggregated blood lead (BL) and soil lead (SL) data in New Orleans census tracts. In this study we investigate the relationships between SL (mg/kg), age of child, and BL (μg/dL) of 55,551 children in 280 census tracts in metropolitan New Orleans, 2000 to 2005. Analyses include random effects regression models predicting BL levels of children (μg/dL) and random effects logistic regression models predicting the odds of BL in children exceeding 15, 10, 7, 5, and 3 μg/dL as a function of age and SL exposure. Economic benefits of SL reduction scenarios are estimated. A unit raise in median SL 0.5 significantly increases the BL level in children (b = 0.214 p = b0.01), and a unit change in Age 0.5 significantly increases child BL (b = 0.401, p = b 0.01). A unit change in Age 0.5 increases the odds of a child BL exceeding 10 μg/dL by a multiplicative factor of 1.23 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.25), and a unit (mg/kg) addition of SL increases the odds of child BL N 10 μg/dL by a factor of 1.13 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.14). Extrapolating from regression results, we find that a shift in SL regulatory standard from 400 to 100 mg/kg provides each child with an economic benefit ranging from $4710 to $12,624 ($US 2000). Children's BL is a curvilinear function of both age and level of exposure to neighborhood SL. Therefore, a change in SL regulatory standard from 400 to 100 mg/kg provides children with substantial economic benefit.

Environmental Science & Technology, 2010

Prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (HKR), significant associations were noted between soil lead (SL) and blood lead (BL) in New Orleans. Engineering failure of New Orleans levees and canal walls after HKR set the stage for a quasiexperiment to evaluate BL responses by 13 306 children to reductions in SL. High density soil surveying conducted in 46 census tracts before HKR was repeated after the flood. Paired t test results show that SL decreased from 328.54 to 203.33 mg/ kg post-HKR (t ) 3.296, p e 0.01). Decreases in SL are associated with declines in children's BL response (r ) 0.308, p e 0.05). When SL decreased at least 1%, median children's BL declined 1.55 µg/dL. Declines in median BL are largest in census tracts with g50% decrease in SL. Also individual BL in children was predicted as a function of SL, adjusting for age, year of observation, and depth of flood waters. At the individual scale, BL decreased significantly in post-HKR as a function of SL, with BL decreases ranging from b ) -1.20 to -1.65 µg/dL, depending on the decline of SL and whether children were born in the post-HKR period. Our results support policy to improve soil conditions for children.

Sociology of race & ethnicity, 2015

Historical and Contemporary Patterns of Race and Class Childhood lead poisoning is a critical environmental inequality issue with racial and spatial overtones. Lead poisoning in children is due primarily to environmental conditions of the children's residences. The most significant sources are chips, dust, and soil incorporated with lead-based paint used in and on housing structures. Children subsequently ingest and/or inhale these sources (Meyer et al. 2003; U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 2007; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 1990). Regulations eliminating leaded paint, gasoline, and other lead-based products in the United States have reduced the 608873S REXXX10.

Geohealth, 2023

Some researchers propose that current Pb emissions explain the continuing exposure problem of metals in the air. The implication is that new regulations on current emissions of metals in the air will curtail exposure. The focus here is on soil Pb, and we propose that soils became Pb-contaminated from massive amounts of leaded gasoline and the deterioration of exterior lead-based paints, which has burdened communities with a legacy of Pb-contamination, especially within traffic-congested inner-city communities. Urban soil Pb mapping provides a clear understanding of the Pb contamination burden of various communities. Because of the invisibility of Pb dust in the air and the soil, city soil Pb mapping assists with visualizing the underrecognized issue, and the environmental racial justice issues of excessive Pb contamination affecting citizens' health living within various community environments.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021

Lead (Pb) soil contamination in urban environments represents a considerable health risk for exposed populations, which often include environmental justice communities. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA), Pb pollution is a major concern primarily due to extensive historical Pb-smelting/processing activity and legacy use of Pb-based paints and leaded gasoline. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) organized and/or compiled community-driven soil sampling campaigns to investigate Pb content in surface soils across Philadelphia. Using these data (n = 1277), combined with our own dataset (n = 1388), we explored the spatial distribution of Pb content in soils across the city using ArcGIS. While assessing Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP)-code level data, we found strong correlations between factors, such as the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels (% EBLL) and % minority population as well as between % EBLL and % children in poverty. We developed a “Lead Index” that...