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Lead, Soils, and Children: An Ecological Analysis of Lead Contamination in Parks and Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Brooklyn, New York

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Abstract

Although the prevalence of elevated childhood blood lead levels (BLLs) has been declining, there are still an estimated 500,000 children (1 to 5 years) with BLLs above the CDC’s reference value (≥ 5 μg/dL). The objective of this study was to evaluate the ecological association between soil lead (Pb) concentrations in greenspaces in Brooklyn, NY and elevated BLLs of children aged 1 to 5 years old. Soil samples (n = 1504) were collected from a wide variety of parks within 43 neighborhood tabulation areas (NTAs) located in Brooklyn, NY, analyzed with a portable XRF with a subset (n = 350), and also analyzed by ICP-MS. Lead concentrations were right skewed with a mean of 160.4 ppm and a median of 113.1 ppm. The Pb concentration range spanned three orders of magnitude with most samples (66.7%) ≥ 80 ppm and 6.7% of samples ≥ 400 ppm. Elevated BLL (≥ 5ug/dL) data on children 1 to 5 years were obtained from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2011–2015). Weighted median soil Pb concentrations were calculated for each NTA and stratified into quartiles. The overall median rate of children from 1 to 5 years old with BLLs ≥ 5 µg/dL was 28.6 per 1000; the median rate was highest (p = 0.070) in the fourth quartile (Pb concentrations ≥ 150 ppm) compared to the first quartile (Pb concentrations < 88 ppm), 37.2 vs. 28.3 per 1000, respectively. We then used multivariable linear regression to determine the ecological association between BLL rates and soil Pb concentrations. In the final stepwise multivariable regression model, controlling for known risk factors, there was a significant positive association between soil Pb concentrations and increased childhood BLL rates (beta = 0.0008; p = 0.004). Our findings suggest that there is an ecological association between high soil Pb levels and increased rates of elevated childhood BLLs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the work of Ms. Johana Melendez Garcia, Ms. Emily Henderson, and Mr. Anselem Okorie for their help with sample collection and preparation.

Funding

Support for this project was provided by a PSC-CUNY Award [63782-00 51, 2020], jointly funded by The Professional Staff Congress and The City University of New York.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, 55 W. 125th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Brian Pavilonis, Glen Johnson & Andrew Maroko

  2. Brooklyn College of The City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Zhongqi Cheng

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  1. Brian Pavilonis
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Correspondence to Brian Pavilonis.

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Pavilonis, B., Cheng, Z., Johnson, G. et al. Lead, Soils, and Children: An Ecological Analysis of Lead Contamination in Parks and Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Brooklyn, New York. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 82, 1–10 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-021-00902-7

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