Houston: Toxic Lead Levels Found in Kids' Play Areas and Yards
Elevated levels of lead have been discovered in playgrounds in Houston, Texas, new research reports. On average, lead levels were four times higher in these play areas than they are in Texas overall.
Heavy metals like lead occur naturally in most soils. However, thanks to industrial pollution, the levels of these metals are often higher than they should be.
"Heavy metals and metalloids have been extensively studied and regulated over the past 50 years, but evidence is growing that contact is more prevalent than previously thought," Garett Sansom, with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health and a corresponding author of the study, said in a statement.
In a new study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, Sansom and colleagues, in collaboration with Houston-based environmental action groups Coalition of Community Organizations and IMPACT GFW, collected 193 samples from residential yards and play areas around the Greater Fifth Ward.
The Greater Fifth Ward is a neighborhood two miles northeast of Downtown Houston. It is known as a "cancer cluster" due to high levels of cancer diagnoses that occur in this area, and the majority of residents belong to socioeconomically disadvantage racial and ethnic minorities.
The samples were analyzed for eight heavy metals and compared to average levels in other urban areas around Texas. While most heavy metals were no higher than those in other areas, lead levels were significantly elevated in seven of the samples.
"The median levels of lead detected in seven samples from play areas (400 mg/kg) and three samples from residential areas (1200 mg/kg) were four times the levels for Texas overall," Sansom said. "And these likely were underestimated because they did not account for lead-based paint or automotive fuel."
But why is this a problem?
Lead can replace the calcium in our bones and teeth. Because of this, the heavy metal can be stored in our bodies for decades after initial exposure. Over time, this lead can accumulate and may be released back into our blood.
The metal has been associated with a range of neurological and cardiovascular conditions, as well as problems with our kidneys, our blood, our immune system, and our reproductive health. Children are particularly vulnerable to these health impacts, especially when it comes to brain development, and numerous studies have shown that even low-level lead exposure is associated with impaired attention, memory and learning abilities.
