title: Linking source and effect: resuspended soil lead, air lead, and children's blood lead levels in Detroit, Michigan.
abstract: This study evaluates atmospheric concentrations of soil and Pb aerosols, and blood lead levels (BLLs) in 367839 children (ages 0-10) in Detroit, Michigan from 2001 to 2009 to test a hypothesized soil → air dust → child pathway of contemporary Pb risk. Atmospheric soil and Pb show near-identical seasonal properties that match seasonal variation in children's BLLs. Resuspended soil appears to be a significant underlying source of atmospheric Pb. A 1% increase in the amount of resuspended soil results in a 0.39% increase in the concentration of Pb in the atmosphere (95% CI, 0.28 to 0.50%). In turn, atmospheric Pb significantly explains age-dependent variation in child BLLs. Other things held equal, a change of 0.0069 μg/m(3) in atmospheric Pb increases BLL of a child 1 year of age by 10%, while approximately 3 times the concentration of Pb in air (0.023 μg/m(3)) is required to induce the same increase in BLL of a child 7 years of age. Similarly, a 0.0069 μg/m(3) change in air Pb increases the odds of a child <1 year of age having a BLL ≥ 5 μg/dL by a multiplicative factor of 1.32 (95% CI, 1.26 to 1.37). Overall, the resuspension of Pb contaminated soil explains observed seasonal variation in child BLLs.
authors: Department of Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA.
authors: Sammy
authors: S
authors: Zahran
authors: Mark A S
authors: MA
authors: Laidlaw
authors: Shawn P
authors: SP
authors: McElmurry
authors: Gabriel M
authors: GM
authors: Filippelli
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D012621:Seasons; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D007854:Lead