The legacy lead deposition in soils and its impact on cognitive function in preschool-aged children in the United States

Clay, Karen; Portnykh, Margarita; Severnini, Edson

doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2019.03.001

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…To explore the current relevance of our findings, and shed light on the legacy effects of airborne lead, we estimate the effect of lead topsoil on fertility in the 2000s. Historical airborne lead emissions were deposited and accumulated in topsoil for several decades (Mielke, Laidlaw, and Gonzales 2011), and have been shown to affect other important societal outcomes (Clay, Portnykh, and Severnini 2019). For this analysis, we use data on lead concentration in soil from the U.S. Geological Survey.…”

Section: Current Impacts: Exposure To Lead In Soil and Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxic Truth: Lead and Fertility

Clay¹,

Portnykh²,

Severnini³

2021

Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Econom

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Section: Current Impacts: Exposure To Lead In Soil and Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxic Truth: Lead and Fertility

Clay¹,

Portnykh²,

Severnini³

2021

Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Econom

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“…Exposure to other sources of lead, such as the legacy lead deposition in soils, have been found to affect the cognitive abilities of young children [ 33 ]. Yet few studies have attempted to directly quantify the health impact of WLLs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead contamination of public drinking water and academic achievements among children in Massachusetts: a panel study

Levin

Schwartz

2022

BMC Public Health

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Background Public drinking water can be an important source exposure to lead, which can affect children’s cognitive development and academic performance. Few studies have looked at the impact of lead exposures from community water supplies or their impact on school achievements. We examined the association between annual community water lead levels (WLLs) and children’s academic performances at the school district level. Methods We matched the 90th percentile WLLs with the grade 3–8 standardized test scores from the Stanford Education Data Archive on Geographic School Districts by geographic location and year. We used multivariate linear regression and adjusted for urbanicity, race, socioeconomic characteristics, school district, grade, and year. We also explored potential effect measure modifications and lag effects. Results After adjusting for potential confounders, a 5 μg/L increase in 90th percentile WLLs in a GSD was associated with a 0.00684 [0.00021, 0.01348] standard deviation decrease in the average math test score in the same year. No association was found for English Language Arts. Conclusions We found an association between the annual fluctuation of WLLs and math test scores in Massachusetts school districts, after adjusting for confounding by urbanicity, race, socioeconomic factors, school district, grade, and year. The implications of a detectable effect of WLLs on academic performance even at the modest levels evident in MA are significant and timely. Persistent efforts should be made to further reduce lead in drinking water.

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“…Studies of metals in urban agricultural soils have consistently identified lead as a contaminant of concern (Lupolt, Santo, et al., 2021 ; Mitchell et al., 2014 ; Spliethoff et al., 2016 ). Growing food in cities involves extensive contact with urban soils, highlighting the relevance of UA as an important pathway of lead exposure (Clay et al., 2019 ; Entwistle et al., 2019 ). This pathway may worsen a cumulative exposure burden on already disadvantaged populations, as communities with higher levels of soil contamination may also face higher levels of air or drinking water contamination and lack the resources to mitigate those exposures and related risks (Hauptman et al., 2021 ; Horst et al., 2017 ; Malone, 2021 ; McClintock, 2012 ; Saikawa & Filippelli, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Soil Safety Policies: The Next Frontier for Mitigating Lead Exposures and Promoting Sustainable Food Production

et al. 2022

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Urban soils bear the persistent legacy of leaded gasoline and past industrial practices. Soil safety policies (SSPs) are an important public health tool with the potential to inform, identify, and mitigate potential health risks faced by urban growers, but little is known about how these policies may protect growers from exposures to lead and other soil contaminants. We reviewed and evaluated 43 urban agriculture (UA) policies in 40 US cities pertaining to soil safety. About half of these cities had a least one SSP that offered recommendations or provided services for soil testing. Eight cities had at least one SSP containing a requirement pertaining to any topic (e.g., soil testing, a specific best practice for growing). We found notable inconsistencies across SSPs for “acceptable” levels of lead in soils and the activities and behaviors recommended at each level. We specify research needed to inform revisions to US Environmental Protection Agency guidance for lead in soils specific to UA. We conclude with a series of recommendations to guide the development or revision of SSPs.

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The legacy lead deposition in soils and its impact on cognitive function in preschool-aged children in the United States

Cited by 21 publications

References 100 publications

Toxic Truth: Lead and Fertility

Toxic Truth: Lead and Fertility

Lead contamination of public drinking water and academic achievements among children in Massachusetts: a panel study

Urban Soil Safety Policies: The Next Frontier for Mitigating Lead Exposures and Promoting Sustainable Food Production

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