title: Evaluating the efficacy of playground washing to reduce environmental metal exposures.
abstract: Washing and wet mopping is often advocated as a remedial treatment to limit exposure to lead dust. Here, surface and pre- and post-play wipes were measured to ascertain dust metal exposures (arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc) following play routines at four playgrounds in the smelter city of Port Pirie, South Australia, which are washed regularly. Although post-play hand wipe metals were 55.9% (95% CI: -0.78, -0.34) lower on wash days, loadings increased ∼5.1% (95% CI: 1.2, 11.7) per hour after washing. Despite washing, post-play hand lead exceeded a conservative value of 800 μg/m(2) within 24 h or sooner, with loadings increasing in proximity to the smelter. Post-play lead loadings were always >1000 μg/m(2) at the playground closest to smelter. Playground washing results in short-lived exposure reduction and effective treatment requires elimination of smelter emissions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. Electronic address: mark.taylor@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Mark Patrick
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis, Colorado State University, C-312A Clark Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1771, USA.
authors.forename: Sammy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zahran
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rouillon
mesh_terms: D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D010988:Play and Playthings; D013021:South Australia
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy
keywords: Children; Contamination; Dust; Lead; Metals; Smelter