"Roughly one in four U.S. households have soil exceeding the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lead screening levels of 200 parts per million (ppm), halved from the previous level of 400 ppm, a new study found. For households with exposure from multiple sources, the EPA lowered the guidance to 100 ppm; nearly 40% of households exceed that level, the study also found.
"I was shocked at how many households were above the new 200 ppm guideline," said Gabriel Filippelli, a biochemist at Indiana University who led the new study. "I assumed it was going to be a more modest number. And results for the 100 ppm guideline are even worse."
Remediating the roughly 29 million affected households using traditional "dig and dump" soil removal methods could cost upward of $1 trillion, the study calculated. The study is published in GeoHealth. Filippelli is the former editor-in-chief of GeoHealth.
Lead is a heavy metal that can accumulate in the human body, with toxic effects. In children, exposure to lead is associated with lower educational outcomes. In the United States, the burden of lead exposure has historically fallen on lower-income communities and communities of color because of redlining and other discriminatory practices. Lead pollution can come from aging water pipes, old paint, and remnant gasoline and industrial pollution, but today, most lead exposure comes from contaminated soils and dust, even after lead-containing infrastructure is removed."
Rebecca Dzombak reports for the American Geophysical Union June 18, 2024.
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