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FRIDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- While lead has been phased out of U.S. gasoline, paint and other products, lead levels in dirt -- maybe even the soil in your yard or the local playground -- are still a public health hazard, warns an Indianapolis researcher.
"In urban areas -- Indianapolis, Detroit, St. Louis -- soil lead, even away from the home or the road, is 8 to 10 times higher than natural soil [not exposed to the burden of lead]," noted Gabriel Filippelli, professor of earth sciences and department chair at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
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He conducted a review of the data on urban soils as a persistent source of lead poisoning, published in a recent issue of the journal Applied Geochemistry. The work was done with lead author, Mark A.S. Laidlaw, formerly a student at the university.
The two also investigated the current "lead burden" in soils from Indianapolis and other cities. Older American cities have a very high lead burden, and it's enough to adversely affect children's health, Filippelli contended.
It's especially bad when the wind kicks up in dry temperatures and spreads the lead-laden soil around. "That is when kids' blood levels go up," the expert said.
While blood levels during these windy times have not been shown to typically rise past what's considered a healthy limit by federal guidelines, Filippelli said, many studies have shown that ill health effects can kick in below that established level.
According to Filippelli and other experts, a child's developing digestive system is especially susceptible to lead poisoning. At the atomic level, lead looks similar to calcium, he said, since the two substances are similar in size and ionic charge. That means the body's nervous system can readily take up lead instead of calcium, potentially leading to neural deficits.
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