The urban lead (Pb) burden in humans, animals and the natural environment

Abstract

Centuries of human activities, particularly housing and transportation practices from the late 19th century through the 1980's, dispersed hundreds of millions of tons of lead into our urban areas. The urban lead burden is evident among humans, wild and domesticated animals, and plants. Animal lead exposures closely mirror and often exceed the lead exposure patterns of their human partners. Some examples: Pigeons in New York City neighborhoods mimicked the lead exposures of neighborhood children, with more contaminated areas associated with higher exposures in both species. Also, immediately following the lead in drinking water crisis in Flint MI in 2015, blood lead levels in pet dogs in Flint were 4 times higher than in surrounding towns. And combining lead's neurotoxicity with urban stress results in well-characterized aggressive behaviors across multiple species. Lead pollution is not distributed evenly across urban areas. Although average US pediatric lead exposures have declined by 90% since the 1970s, there remain well defined neighborhoods where children continue to have toxic lead exposures; animals are poisoned there, too. Those neighborhoods tend to have disproportionate commercial and industrial lead activity; a history of dense traffic; older and deteriorating housing; past and operating landfills, dumps and hazardous waste sites; and often lead contaminated drinking water. The population there tends to be low income and minority. Urban wild and domesticated animals bear that same lead burden. Soil, buildings, dust and even trees constitute huge lead repositories throughout urban areas. Until and unless we begin to address the lead repositories in our cities, the urban lead burden will continue to impose enormous costs distributed disproportionately across the domains of the natural environment. Evidence-based research has shown the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of some US public policies to prevent or reduce these exposures. We end with a series of recommendations to manage lead-safe urban environments.

Keywords: Environmental justice; Lead; One health; Urban environmental policy; Urban exposures.

Figure 1:

Total US usage of lead in paint and gasoline, 1910–1990. Source: Mielke HW. 1999. Lead in the inner cities. American Scientist 87 (Jan-Feb): 62–73.

Figure 2.

Anthropogenic US lead emissions by source, 1990–2014 Source: EPA 2018 (U.S. EPA. 2018. Data from the 2014 National Emissions Inventory, Version 2. Accessed 8/12/20. https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/2014-national-emissions-inventory-nei-data.)

Figure 3.

Average US pediatric blood lead levels 1976–2014. https://ptfceh.niehs.nih.gov/features/assets/files/key_federal_programs_to_reduce_childhood_lead_exposures_and_eliminate_associated_health_impactspresidents_508.pdf

Figure 4.

Average US pediatric blood lead levels 1976–2014, overlaid with US federal policies and regulations. https://ptfceh.niehs.nih.gov/features/assets/files/key_federal_programs_to_reduce_childhood_lead_exposures_and_eliminate_associated_health_impactspresidents_508.pdf