title: Revisiting Nonresidential Environmental Exposures and Childhood Lead Poisoning in the US: Findings from Kansas, 2000-2005.
abstract: Although blood lead levels (BLLs) in US children have dramatically declined over the past 40 years, there remain pockets of children living in areas with elevated BLLs. While some increases (≥ 10 μg/dL) may be associated with legacy lead paint, ambient air lead may be contributing to the problem. A deidentified dataset of information on over 60,000 Kansas children under 3 years of age who were tested for BLL was provided through the Kansas Environmental Public Health Tracking Network for the period 2000-2005. Using ArcGIS, we calculated distance (in miles) from a lead-emitting industry referred to as a toxic release inventory (TRI) site. The USEPA TRI database tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health. US facilities in different industry sectors must report annually amount of substances like lead into the environment including their exact location. Distance from a TRI site was inversely related to BLL after controlling for area-level poverty and pre-1950 housing. The results of our evaluation indicate there is a significant relationship between proximity to lead industry and childhood BLLs. Proximity to sources of lead emissions should be evaluated as a possible factor when identifying children for targeted BLL testing.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Lu Ann
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Brink
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Evelyn O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Talbott
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Gary M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Wen Chi
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Chunzhe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duan
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007615:Kansas / Q000453:epidemiology; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male