Lead Pollution, Demographics, and Environmental Health Risks: The Case of Philadelphia, USA
| Autor: | Michael J. O'Shea, Thomas P. McKeon, Reto Gieré, Richard Pepino, Hasibe Caballero-Gómez, Marilyn Howarth, Jonas Toupal |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Demographics
Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis Pb pollution Population environmental health Article Environmental health Humans Soil Pollutants Child education Demography Philadelphia Environmental justice education.field_of_study environmental justice communities childhood health risks Poverty Land use Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health land use risk assessment Soil contamination Geography Lead Medicine Risk assessment ArcGIS |
| Zdroj: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Volume 18 Issue 17 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 9055, p 9055 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 1660-4601 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/ijerph18179055 |
| Popis: | Lead (Pb) soil contamination in urban environments represents a considerable health risk for exposed populations, which often include environmental justice communities. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PA), Pb pollution is a major concern primarily due to extensive historical Pb-smelting/processing activity and legacy use of Pb-based paints and leaded gasoline. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) organized and/or compiled community-driven soil sampling campaigns to investigate Pb content in surface soils across Philadelphia. Using these data (n = 1277), combined with our own dataset (n = 1388), we explored the spatial distribution of Pb content in soils across the city using ArcGIS. While assessing Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP)-code level data, we found strong correlations between factors, such as the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels (% EBLL) and % minority population as well as between % EBLL and % children in poverty. We developed a “Lead Index” that took demographics, median measured Pb-in-soil content, and % EBLLs into account to identify ZIP codes in need of further assessment. Our results will be used to help lower the Pb-exposure risk for vulnerable children living in disproportionately burdened communities. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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