FUGITIVE DUST AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEAD EXPOSURE: A POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCE OF HOUSING DEMOLITION

An increase in blood lead levels (BLLs) have been linked to negative health effects in adults and children since the late 1800s. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lead-contaminated dust is the single largest source of lead exposure for children, who are significantly more susceptible and have no known upper blood lead level limit. Lead-based paints are a well-documented source for lead in dust, with current research attributing deteriorating paint or home renovations to the occurrence of elevated lead concentrations in adults and children. Recent research has shown that demolition of homes containing lead-based paint contributes fugitive lead-dust to the air and surfaces in the immediate vicinity of the home, but there is little data on the contributions to fugitive lead-dust inside adjacent homes where families may reside. An estimated 38 million homes still contain lead-based paint; many of them in urban areas with closely-spaced homes and above average rates of demolition. This study is examining the before and after surface soil in yards and the dust inside of homes, both immediately adjacent to or across the street from a demolition in the Oakwood Heights neighborhood of Southwest Detroit, MI. The primary goal is to ascertain whether and to what extent fugitive lead-dust concentrations change due to demolition activity, while collecting new and helpful information that is widely applicable to reduce exposure by bringing awareness to the issue.