The concurrent decline of soil lead and children’s blood lead in New Orleans
The concurrent decline of soil lead and children’s blood lead in New Orleans Howard W. Mielke , Christopher R. Gonzales , Eric T. Powell , Mark A. S. Laidlaw , Kenneth J. Berry , Paul W. Mielke Jr. , and Sara Perl Egendorf PNAS first published October 14, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1906092116 Significance The inextricable link between topsoil lead (Pb) and children’s blood lead (BPb) has not been widely accepted. Pb is associated with multiple health adversities. Urban residents are at risk from exposure to legacy Pb dust in topsoil resulting from smelting, industrial discharges, leaded gasoline emissions, leaded paint, and incineration. In New Orleans, topsoil median Pb decreased in ∼15 y from 99 mg/kg to 54 mg/kg, or ∼2.4 mg⋅kg⋅y −1 . In ∼12 y, children’s median BPb declined from 3.6 μg/dL to 1.3 μg/dL, or ∼0.2 μg⋅dL⋅y −1 . We argue that depletion of topsoil Pb is an important factor in the continuous dec...