LEAD POLLUTION, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISKS IN PHILADELPHIA, USA

Lead soil contamination in urban environments represents a continuing health risk for exposed populations, which often include environmental justice communities. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, lead pollution is a major concern primarily due to extensive historical Pb-smelting and -processing activity as well as past use of Pb-based paints and leaded gasoline. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) organized and/or compiled community-driven sampling campaigns to investigate Pb content in surface soils across Philadelphia. Using these Pb-in-soil data, augmented by data collected by the University of Pennsylvania, we explored the spatial distribution of Pb content in soils across the city by applying ArcGIS. While assessing zip-code level data, we found strong correlations between factors such as percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels (% EBLL) and % minority population as well as between % EBLL and % children in poverty. We developed a “Lead Index” that is based on demographics, median measured Pb-in-soil content, and % EBLLs to identify zip codes in need of further assessment. Our results may be used to reduce and/or mitigate the Pb-exposure risk for vulnerable children living in disproportionately burdened communities.