Linking Source and Effect: Resuspended Soil Lead, Air Lead, and Children’s Blood Lead Levels in Detroit, Michigan

Abstract

This study evaluates atmospheric concentrations of soil and Pb aerosols, and blood lead levels (BLLs) in 367839 children (ages 0-10) in Detroit, Michigan from 2001 to 2009 to test a hypothesized soil → air dust → child pathway of contemporary Pb risk. Atmospheric soil and Pb show near-identical seasonal properties that match seasonal variation in children's BLLs. Resuspended soil appears to be a significant underlying source of atmospheric Pb. A 1% increase in the amount of resuspended soil results in a 0.39% increase in the concentration of Pb in the atmosphere (95% CI, 0.28 to 0.50%). In turn, atmospheric Pb significantly explains age-dependent variation in child BLLs. Other things held equal, a change of 0.0069 μg/m(3) in atmospheric Pb increases BLL of a child 1 year of age by 10%, while approximately 3 times the concentration of Pb in air (0.023 μg/m(3)) is required to induce the same increase in BLL of a child 7 years of age. Similarly, a 0.0069 μg/m(3) change in air Pb increases the odds of a child <1 year of age having a BLL ≥ 5 μg/dL by a multiplicative factor of 1.32 (95% CI, 1.26 to 1.37). Overall, the resuspension of Pb contaminated soil explains observed seasonal variation in child BLLs.

Indoor PM10 and its heavy metal composition at a roadside residential environment, Phitsanulok, Thailand

“…Soils in older areas of the cities are highly contaminated by lead, largely due to past use of lead additives in gasoline, the use of lead in exterior paints, and industrial lead sources. Laidlaw et al (2012) sustain that automotive traffic turbulence plays a significant role in the resuspension of contaminated roadside soils and dusts, and resuspended soil appears to be a significant underlying source of atmospheric Pb (Zahran et al, 2013).…”

Biogeochemical characterization of municipal compost to support urban agriculture and limit childhood lead exposure from resuspended urban soils

“…Recent literature revealing that the seasonality of children's blood lead levels in urban centers is largely associated with resuspended urban soils (Laidlaw et al, 2005;Laidlaw et al, 2008;Laidlaw et al, 2016;Laidlaw et al, 2017;Mielke et al, 2016;Zahran et al, 2013) precipitates an urgent need to include bioaccessible soil lead characterization in risk evaluations. A few studies from the urban-rural gradient have attempted to systematically measure the fraction of soil lead that is soluble in simulated gastric fluid assays (Appleton et al, 2012(Appleton et al, , 2013Wu et al, 2010).…”

“…In cities across the US, the primary variable correlated with childhood lead blood levels is not exposure to leaded paint, but exposure to re-suspended lead contaminated soil dust (Laidlaw et al, 2005;Laidlaw et al, 2016;Laidlaw et al, 2017;Laidlaw and Filipelli, 2008;Zahran et al, 2013). This newly emerging urban lead exposure paradigm significantly alters the landscape of lead exposure prevention programs, placing the emphasis on addressing legacy lead sources in soils rather than leaded paint.…”

Artifact preservation and post-depositional site-formation processes in an urban setting: a geoarchaeological study of a 19th century neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, USA

“…and within 5 km of, the most heavily industrialized part of the metro area including the massive Ford Rouge plant in nearby Dearborn. Previous studies suggest that Detroit has been, and probably still is, affected by acid deposition (Dasch et al, 1984), deicing salts (Howard and Sova, 1993), and airborne deposition of particulates (Pancras et al, 2013), in part derived from resuspended urban soil (Zahran et al, 2013).…”