Clair Patterson's Influence on Environmental Research

A century of the Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health

“…Patterson was a pioneering researcher in geochemistry 16 who was most famous for discovering a reliable method for determining the age of the earth 17 ; although he also developed a significant interest in environmental lead contamination. Not surprisingly, the battle between Patterson and Kehoe was all about lead, and one that would be played out between the late 1950s (when Patterson first became interested in lead contamination whilst conducting his aforementioned geological experiments) and the early 1980s (when lead was progressively phased out as a gasoline additive).…”

Lead and cognitive function in adults: A questions and answers approach to a review of the evidence for cause, treatment, and prevention

“…The effects of this national poisoning were first investigated in children, with a strong focus on cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and other brain-related outcomes (Baghurst et al, 1995;Baghurst et al, 1992;Bellinger, Hu, Titlebaum, & Needleman, 1994a;Bellinger, Leviton, Allred, & Rabinowitz, 1994b;Bellinger, Leviton, Needleman, Waternaux, Rabinowitz, 1986;Lanphear et al, 2005;McMichael et al, 1994;McMichael et al, 1988;Needleman, 1973Needleman, , 1979Needleman, , 1992Needleman, McFarland, Ness, Fienberg, & Tobin, 2002). In the clear light of historical investigation, it is now well documented that Robert Kehoe at the Kettering Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati, and other prominent researchers with heavy research funding from the lead industry, gained the power for decades to define what it meant to be lead poisoned (Flegal, 1998;Needleman, 1998;Warren, 2000), with a profoundly adverse impact on public health.…”

Translating Analytical Techniques in Geochemistry to Environmental Health

“…Pb isotopic ratios are independent of total Pb content, thus making them an effective tracer of both geologic processes and environmental contaminants. The reason is the processes that control isotopic heterogeneity: (1) the abundance of the parent isotopes (i.e., 238 U, 235 U, 232 Th), (2) the radioactive decay rate of these isotopes (t 1/2 = 4.5 Ga, 700 Ma, and 14 Ga, respectively) into the daughter isotopes ( 206 Pb, 207 Pb, and 208 Pb), and (3) the time since the formation of the precursor materials (e.g., age of the metal ore deposit). These three factors cause the isotope abundances of a single element to fractionate, or change relative to one another, and therefore cause variability in isotopic ratios from one material to the next.…”

“…By 1965, Patterson had discovered that atmospheric contamination, observed in both deep-ocean sediments and high-altitude snow, had overprinted the isotopic signatures of Pb across the planet. More than 50 years later, the public health significance of Patterson’s findings continues to inform environmental policy today [ 2 ], and Pb isotopes are now recognized as an indispensable tool for both solid Earth geochemistry and environmental health.…”