Geochemical legacies and the future health of cities: A tale of two neurotoxins in urban soils

Abstract

The past and future of cities are inextricably linked, a linkage that can be seen clearly in the long-term impacts of urban geochemical legacies. As loci of population as well as the means of employment and industry to support these populations, cities have a long history of co-locating contaminating practices and people, sometimes with negative implications for human health.

Addressing Pollution‐Related Global Environmental Health Burdens

“…While levels of lead in children have dropped significantly since the elimination of the use of lead additives in gasoline and its removal from other sources (paint, food, and toys), some 500,000 U.S. children still have an elevated blood lead level. It is a fact that exposures are disproportionately greater in lower‐income children of color (e.g., Filippelli et al, ). This impact and the inherent environmental injustices are particularly evident in U.S. cities.…”

“…Several efforts are underway to flip this equation and to actively engage with community members to address this gap. Some of these approaches are now utilizing citizen science and community‐engaged research, which are emerging as effective and powerful mechanisms to collect data and to engage with communities to take action to find and reduce personal exposures to contamination in their own homes (e.g., Filippelli et al, ; Leech et al, ). Recent examples from soil and dust lead exposure include Indianapolis (Healthy Cities Project, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=healthy%20cities%20project), New Orleans (Lead Lab, 2018, https://plus.google.com/102811471396098140243), Sydney (VegeSafe, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/MQVegeSafe/), and an emerging global dust network (360 Dust Analysis, 2018, http://www.360dustanalysis.com).…”

Lead (Pb) Bioaccessibility and Mobility Assessment of Urban Soils and Composts: Fingerprinting Sources and Refining Risks to Support Urban Agriculture

“…Capping contaminated soil with clean fill at the neighborhood scale has been shown to lower BLLs and prevent soil recontamination, though these plans are often limited by cost and material availability (Filippelli et al, 2015;Hynes et al, 2001;Laidlaw et al, 2017;Mielke et al, 2016). Capping contaminated soil with clean fill at the neighborhood scale has been shown to lower BLLs and prevent soil recontamination, though these plans are often limited by cost and material availability (Filippelli et al, 2015;Hynes et al, 2001;Laidlaw et al, 2017;Mielke et al, 2016).…”

Using deciduous trees as bioindicators of trace element deposition in a small urban watershed, Indianapolis, IN, USA

“…The city of Indianapolis, IN, is one of the many cities around the world where heavy vehicular traffic, industries such as coal‐fired power plants (Filippelli, Risch, Laidlaw, Nichols, & Crewe, ), and metallurgic factories produce significant atmospheric particulates that may deposit locally, affecting air quality and health (Adriano, ; Baycu, Tolunay, Özden, & Günebakan, ; Laidlaw et al., ; Morrison et al., ; Sawidis, Breuste, Mitrovic, Pavlovic, & Tsigaridas, ). Among the various chemical components of atmospheric particulates, trace elements such as cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) are indicated as major metal pollutants (Adriano, ) that may cause health risks to living organisms (Baycu et al., ; Doğanlar & Atmaca, ; Esposito, Memoli, & Di Natale, ; Kharkan, Hossein Sayadi, & Resa Rezaei, ; Rodriguez et al., ; Sawidis et al., ; Serbula, Miljkovich, Kovacevic, & Ilic, ).…”

“…The city of Indianapolis, IN, is one of the many cities around the world where heavy vehicular traffic, industries such as coal-fired power plants (Filippelli, Risch, Laidlaw, Nichols, & Crewe, 2015), and metallurgic factories produce significant atmospheric particulates that may deposit locally, affecting air quality and health (Adriano, 2001;Baycu, Tolunay, Özden, & Günebakan, 2006;Laidlaw et al, 2016;Morrison et al, 2013;Sawidis, Breuste, Mitrovic, Pavlovic, & Filippelli, & Mastalerz, 2001;Laidlaw et al, 2017;Perkins, Filippelli, & Souch, 2000) or locally from dust generation from nearby soils (e.g., Laidlaw, Zahran, Mielke, Taylor, & Filippelli, 2012;Zahran, Laidlaw, McElmurry, Filippelli, & Taylor, 2013). The use of tree material as a bioindicator of atmospheric deposition has been reported previously, and the advantages include lower costs than long-term air sampling networks, the ability to determine modern (i.e.…”