Lead Pollution, Demographics, and Environmental Health Risks: The Case of Philadelphia, USA

Abstract

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 took demographics, median measured Pb-in-soil content, and % EBLLs into account to identify ZIP codes in need of further assessment. Our results will be used to help lower the Pb-exposure risk for vulnerable children living in disproportionately burdened communities.

Spatial Analysis and Lead‐Risk Assessment of Philadelphia, USA

“…The zip codes with the highest risk, that is, a high number of simultaneous lead‐risk factors, as identified by O’Shea et al. (2021) were zip codes 19121, 19125, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19138, 19140, 19141, 19143, and 19144 (Figure S2 in the Supporting Information ; see also O’Shea et al., 2021). Zip codes 19134 and 19125, however, were omitted from being a part of the area investigated here due to significant remediation work and research carried out in this region.…”

“…The study area, broadly defined as West, North, and Upper North Philadelphia, was based on the results of a previous investigation, which analyzed lead risk at the zip code level within Philadelphia (O’Shea et al., 2021). Lead risk at the zip code level was determined by mapping various lead‐risk factors, including owner‐occupied units, renter‐occupied units, units built before 1980, demolitions, minority population (defined as racial and ethnic minorities within the United States), Black population, children in poverty, median income, EBLLs in children, number of smelters, and lead‐in‐soil data (O’Shea et al., 2021). A housing unit, as defined by the Census Bureau, is a house, an apartment, a group of rooms, or a single room intended to serve as a living quarter.…”

“…This may mean that historical smelters are not as critical a lead-risk factor to consider when evaluating areas of high lead risk in Philadelphia, but additional data are required to support this preliminary conclusion. Notably, the majority of the 42 known former smelters in Philadelphia were located in the Riverwards (see Figure S3 in the Supporting Information S1) rather than in North and West Philadelphia (see O'Shea et al, 2021). Despite the paucity of lead-in-soil data points, hazardous soil lead levels were observed within the smelters' radius of impact in each of the smelter-hosting census tracts, for which soil data were available (Figure 4b).…”

Road sediment, an underutilized material in environmental science research: A review of perspectives on United States studies with international context

“…Another similar study described the highest risk from metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ni) in road sediment in tourism areas as opposed to residential, education, or high traffic-density areas (e.g., Wei et al, 2015), whereas a different assessment reported the highest metal (Pb, Cu, Zn, Co, V, Al, Ni, Cr, Cd) concentrations in industrial areas (e.g., Li et al, 2013). Indeed, a better knowledge of the spatial distribution of road sediment pollution and urban pollution in general is crucial to better understanding the risk it presents to human populations (e.g., O'Shea et al, 2020;O'Shea et al, 2021c).…”

Lead exposure as a causative factor for metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and a lead exposure related nomogram for MAFLD prevalence

“…Although, in recent decades, overall lead exposure levels have been degraded, there is still a significant lead exposure problem among poor and underserved urban populations. When considering the influence of social factors on lead exposure, it is found that economic conditions, living conditions or ethnicities also affect the concentration of blood lead (7)(8)(9).…”