ASSESSING LEAD LEVELS IN PLAYGROUND ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR RELATION TO CHILDREN'S BLOOD LEAD LEVELS: A STUDY IN MUNCIE, INDIANA

This study evaluated lead concentrations in playground soil and accumulated dust on playground equipment to examine their correlation with blood lead levels in nearby children. Data were collected from 14 playgrounds in Muncie, Indiana, including soil lead and surface dust samples, while blood lead levels were calculated for children residing in the surrounding neighborhoods. Correlation and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted to investigate the association between soil, dust, and children's blood lead levels. However, no significant relationship was found between soil lead and blood lead levels, nor between dust lead and blood lead levels. Furthermore, assessment of spatial autocorrelation using the Moran’s I index indicated no significant spatial clustering for the variables studied (dust Pb, soil Pb, and blood Pb). Given these findings, it is recommended to seek expertise from qualified professionals and further perform comprehensive testing and analysis to investigate potential lead sources in children's blood. The outcomes of this study offer valuable insights into assessing playground environmental lead contamination, contributing to future research priorities in this area. Specifically, future studies could focus on collecting larger sample sizes and characterizing blood lead in children who frequently use playgrounds rather than those who live nearby but may or may not use the playgrounds.