Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Geographic patterns of non-carpeted floor dust loading in Syracuse, New York (USA) homes

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Environmental Geochemistry and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Residential floor dust loading was measured on the smooth floor surface of 488 houses in Syracuse, New York, during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wipe methods, pre-weighed Ghost Wipes, Lead Wipes, or Whatman Filters were employed to collect duplicate samples from (predominantly) kitchens. The collection efficiency of the various media was determined from multiple wipe tests and side-by-side comparisons. The results were normalized and aggregated at the census tract level to determine whether spatial patterns of dust loading could be observed. Loading was found to be log-normally distributed, with a geometric mean value of 0.311 g m−2 (29 mg of dust per square foot of floor); 95% of the observations fell in the range of 0.042–2.330 g m−2 (4–216 mg foot−2). The sampling for floor dust loading shows some bias for day of the week in which visits to the residential properties were made. After a first-order correction for this effect, results were aggregated by census tract and mapped in a geographic information system (GIS); strong spatial patterns can be identified in an inverse distance weighted mapping. The geographic patterns exhibit a strong correlation with socio-economic/demographic covariates extracted from the 2000 census summaries. Dust mass on the floors is positively correlated with renter-occupied properties and family size; it is negatively correlated with measures of household income.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Butte, W., & Heinzow, B. (2002). Pollutants in house dust as indicators of indoor contamination. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 175, 1–46.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, D. A., Doyle, P. G., Wheeler, D. C., & Johnson, D. L. (1998). A Tale of two swaths: urban childhood blood-lead levels across Syracuse, New York. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88(4), 640–665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, A., Johnson, D. L., & Griffith, D. A. (2006). Mass transfer of soil indoors by track-in on footwear. Science of the Total Environment, 370(2–3), 360–371.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. L., & Bretsch, J. K. (2002). Soil lead and children’s blood lead levels in Syracuse, New York, USA. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 24(4), 375–385.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. L., Hager, J., Hunt, A., Griffith, D. A., Blount, S., Ellsworth, S., et al. (2005). Initial results for urban metal distributions in house dusts of Syracuse, NY, USA. Science in China, Series C, 48(Suppl 1), 92–99.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. L., McDade, K., & Griffith, D. (1996). Seasonal variation in pediatric blood levels in Syracuse, NY, USA. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 18(2), 81–88.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kildeso, J., Vallarino, J., Spengler, J. D., Brightman, H. S., & Schneider, T. (1999). Dust build-up on surfaces in the indoor environment. Atmospheric Environment, 33(5), 699–707.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klepeis, N. E., Nelson, W. C., Ott, W. R., Robinson, J. P., Tsang, A. M., Switzer, P., et al. (2001). The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, 11(3), 231–252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, T. W., & Lane, S. (2004). Lead, arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and house dust in the communities surrounding the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds. Environmental Health Perspectives, 112(1), 35–41.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lanphear, B. P., Matte, T. D., Rogers, J., Clickner, R. P., Dietz, B., Bornshein, R. L., et al. (1998). The contribution of lead-contaminated house dust and residential soil to children’s blood lead levels. Environmental Research, 79, 51–68.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lemley, A. T., Hedge, A., Obendorf, S. K., Hong, S., Kim, J., Muss, T. M., et al. (2002). Selected pesticide residues in house dust from farmers’ homes in Central New York State, USA. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 69(2), 155–163.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, R. G., Fortmann, R. C., & Camann, D. E. (1994). Evaluation of methods for monitoring the potential exposure of small children to pesticides in the residential environment. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 26(1), 37–46.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lioy, P. J., Freeman, N. C. G., & Millette, J. R. (2002). Dust: a metric for use 3 in residential and building exposure assessment and source characterization. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110(10), 969–983.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paustenbach, D. J., Finley, B. L., & Long, T. F. (1997). The critical role of house dust in understanding the hazards posed by contaminated soils. International Journal of Toxicology, 16(4–5), 339–362.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pesonen-Leinonen, E., Tenitz, S., & Sjoberg, A. M. (2004). Surface dust contamination and perceived indoor environment in office buildings. Indoor Air, 14(5), 317–324.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sargent, J. D., Brown, M. J., Freeman, J. L., Bailey, A., Goodman, D., & Freeman, D. H., Jr. (1995). Childhood lead poisoning in Massachusetts communities: its association with sociodemographic and housing characteristics. American Journal of Public Health, 85, 528–534.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, T., Kildeso, J., & Breum, N. O. (1999). A two-compartment model for determining the contribution of sources, surface deposition and resuspension to air and surface dust concentration levels in occupied rooms. Building and Environment, 34, 583–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Succop, P., Bornschein, R., Brown, K., & Tseng, C. (1998). An empirical comparison of lead exposure pathways. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106(Suppl 6), 1577–1583.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (1995a). Residential sampling for lead: protocols for dust and soil sampling. EPA Report 747-R-95-001. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.

  • USEPA (1995b). Sampling house dusts for lead: basic concepts and literature review. EPA Report, 747-R-95-007. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation: award BCS-0221949. The authors thank Mark Storrings for his assistance with the GIS programs.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, State University of New York/Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY/ESF), 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA

    D. L. Johnson, J. M. Hager, J. Brooks, H. StellaLevinsohn, A. Lanciki, R. Lucci, D. Prokhorova & S. L. Blount

  2. Upstate New York Specialist Environmental Consulting (UNYSPEC), Baldwinsville, NY, 13027, USA

    A. Hunt

  3. School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, 75083, USA

    D. A. Griffith

Authors
  1. D. L. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. Hunt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. A. Griffith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. M. Hager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. Brooks
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. H. StellaLevinsohn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. A. Lanciki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. R. Lucci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. D. Prokhorova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. S. L. Blount
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. L. Johnson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnson, D.L., Hunt, A., Griffith, D.A. et al. Geographic patterns of non-carpeted floor dust loading in Syracuse, New York (USA) homes. Environ Geochem Health 31, 353–363 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9175-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9175-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation