Pilot study to determine levels of contamination in indoor dust resulting from contamination of soils

Rutz, Eugene; Valentine, J.D.; Eckart, R.; Yu, A.

doi:10.1080/15320389709383584

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…There is abundant evidence that soil lead exposure is a significant contributor to blood lead levels in children ( Clark et al 2004 ; Dixon et al 2007 ; Lanphear et al 2005 ; Ren et al 2006 ). Estimates of the contribution of exterior soil to indoor dust range from 20–30% ( Culbard et al 1988 ; Davies et al 1985 ; Rutz et al 1997 ) to as high as 85% ( Fergusson and Kim 1991 ; Roberts et al 1991 ; Trowbridge and Burmaster 1997 ). Urban soils can integrate lead from numerous sources, including paint on the exterior of homes, leaded gasoline emissions, and incinerator or industrial lead emissions that have accumulated in the environment ( Mielke 1999 ; Mielke et al 2005 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Lead after Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Future Populations

Rabito¹,

Iqbal²,

Perry³

et al. 2012

Environ Health Perspect

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Background: As a result of Hurricane Katrina, > 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and a significant amount of sediment was deposited throughout the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Researchers have identified the potential for increased lead hazards from environmental lead contamination of soils.Objectives: We assessed the distribution of residential soil and dust lead 2 years poststorm and compared soil lead before and after the storm.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in New Orleans in which households were selected by stratified random sampling. A standard residential questionnaire was administered, and lead testing was performed for both the interior and exterior of homes. Logistic regression was used to identify significant predictors of interior and exterior lead levels in excess of allowable levels.Results: One hundred nine households were enrolled; 61% had at least one lead measurement above federal standards. Of homes with bare soil, 47% had elevated lead and 27% had levels exceeding 1,200 ppm. Housing age was associated with soil lead, and housing age and soil lead were associated with interior lead. Race, income, and ownership status were not significantly associated with either interior or exterior lead levels. The median soil lead level of 560 ppm was significantly higher than the median level of samples collected before Hurricane Katrina.Conclusions: The high prevalence (61%) of lead above recommended levels in soil and dust samples in and around residences raises concern about potential health risks to the New Orleans population, most notably children. Steps should be taken to mitigate the risk of exposure to lead-contaminated soil and dust. Further research is needed to quantify the possible contribution of reconstruction activities to environmental lead levels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Lead after Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Future Populations

Rabito¹,

Iqbal²,

Perry³

et al. 2012

Environ Health Perspect

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show abstract

“…Upper estimates have a range of 80-85% (Hawley 1985;Roberts et al 1991), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1994(EPA , 1998 uses an estimate of 70% as a default value in the application of the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IE-UBK) model for predicting community pediatric blood lead (Pb) levels. Mid-range estimates of 30-45% have been suggested by some studies (Fergusson and Kim 1991;Trowbridge and Burmaster 1997), with other studies proposing a low-range estimate of 20-30% (Davies et al 1985;Culbard et al 1988;Rutz et al 1997). The soil contribution to dust is important because soil and dust ingestion is common among young children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Risk remaining from fine particle contaminants after vacuum cleaning of hard floor surfaces

Hunt

Johnson

Brooks

et al. 2008

Environ Geochem Health

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In the indoor environment, settled surface dust often functions as a reservoir of hazardous particulate contaminants. In many circumstances, a major contributing source to the dust pool is exterior soil. Young children are particularly susceptible to exposure to both outdoor derived soil and indoor derived dust present in the indoor dust pool. This is because early in life the exploratory activities of the infant are dominated by touching and mouthing behavior. Inadvertent exposure to dust through mouth contact and hand-to-mouth activity is an inevitable consequence of infant development. Clean-up of indoor dust is, in many circumstances, critically important in efforts to minimize pediatric exposure. In this study, we examine the efficiency of vacuum cleaner removal of footwear-deposited soil on vinyl floor tiles. The study utilized a 5 x 10 foot (c. 152.5 x 305 cm) test surface composed of 1-foot-square (c. 30.5 x 30.5 cm) vinyl floor tiles. A composite test soil with moderately elevated levels of certain elements (e.g., Pb) was repeatedly introduced onto the floor surface by footwear track-on. The deposited soil was subsequently periodically removed from randomly selected tiles using a domestic vacuum cleaner. The mass and loading of soil elements on the tiles following vacuuming were determined both by wet wipe collection and by subsequent chemical analysis. It was found that vacuum cleaner removal eliminated much of the soil mass from the floor tiles. However, a small percentage of the mass was not removed and a portion of this residual mass could be picked up by moistened hand-lifts. Furthermore, although the post-vacuuming tile soil mass was sizably reduced, for some elements (notably Pb) the concentration in the residual soil was increased. We interpret this increased metal concentration to be a particle size effect with smaller particles (with a proportionately higher metal content) remaining in situ after vacuuming.

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“…A considerable fraction of interior dust can be derived from exterior soil. Various estimates of the contribution have been proposed, ranging from 20-30% [5,6] to 30-45% [7,8] of the interior dust.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of Loading Rate of Dust, Pb, Cd, and Ni and Metals Mass Concentration in the Settled Surface Dust in Domestic Houses and Factors Affecting Them

Khoder

Hassan

El–Abssawy

2010

Indoor and Built Environment

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Interior and exterior measurements of surface loading rates for settled surface dust in domestic houses and the content of three metals -lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) -were conducted weekly during the autumn of 2007 in an urban area of Giza, Egypt. Surface mass concentrations of the metals were also calculated. Results revealed that the interior and exterior surface loading rates averaged 1.58 and 8.18 g m À2 per week, respectively. The interior surface mass concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Ni averaged respectively 311.18, 33.09 and 53.51 mg g À1 , and their interior surface loading rates averaged 533.17, 54.78 and 87.84 mg m À2 per week, respectively. The interior surface loading rates of dust were higher at the side streets than at main streets although the interior surface mass concentrations and loading rates of the metals were higher at the main streets than at side streets. Levels were higher in older homes and smoking homes than in new homes and non-smoking homes. Surface Pb per area in all homes exceeded the US EPA and US HUD guidelines (40 mg ft À2 ) of interior floor Pb dust wipe. Significant positive correlation coefficients were found between interior surface loading rates of metals and dust; among surface loading rates of metals; and among metals' surface mass concentration.

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Pilot study to determine levels of contamination in indoor dust resulting from contamination of soils

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

Environmental Lead after Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Future Populations

Environmental Lead after Hurricane Katrina: Implications for Future Populations

Risk remaining from fine particle contaminants after vacuum cleaning of hard floor surfaces

An Evaluation of Loading Rate of Dust, Pb, Cd, and Ni and Metals Mass Concentration in the Settled Surface Dust in Domestic Houses and Factors Affecting Them

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