Masri S*, LeBrón AMW, Logue MD, Valencia E, Ruiz A, Reyes A, Lawrence J, Wu J. 2020. Social and Spatial Distribution of Soil Lead Concentrations in Urban Soil: Implications for Health Inequities. Science of the Total Environment: 743:140764. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140764. PubMed PMID: 32663692.
Description: We applied a community-based participatory research approach to assess the distribution of soil Pb concentrations and related social vulnerabilities across Census tracts in Santa Ana, CA through the ¡Plo-NO! Santa Ana! Lead-Free Santa Ana! partnership. We found that Census tracts with a lower household income, with the highest percent children, residents without health insurance, renter-occupied housing units, and lowest percent college educated residents had substantially higher Pb concentrations on average, compared to their counterparts. In addition, 52.7% of residential samples had Pb concentrations in excess of the 80 ppm California EPA recommendation. This study underscores the need for precautionary measures relating to disturbances of the soil, particularly for areas where children play outside, given children’s higher absorption of lead.