Lead Emissions and Population Vulnerability in the Detroit (Michigan, USA) Metropolitan Area, 2006–2013: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this research is to geographically model airborne lead emission concentrations and total lead deposition in the Detroit Metropolitan Area (DMA) from 2006 to 2013. Further, this study characterizes the racial and socioeconomic composition of recipient neighborhoods and estimates the potential for IQ (Intelligence Quotient) loss of children residing there. Methods: Lead emissions were modeled from emitting facilities in the DMA using AERMOD (American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model). Multilevel modeling was used to estimate local racial residential segregation, controlling for poverty. Global Moran’s I bivariate spatial autocorrelation statistics were used to assess modeled emissions with increasing segregation. Results: Lead emitting facilities were primarily located in, and moving to, highly black segregated neighborhoods regardless of poverty levels—a phenomenon known as environmental injustice. The findings from this research showed three years of elevated airborne emission concentrations in these neighborhoods to equate to a predicted 1.0 to 3.0 reduction in IQ points for children living there. Across the DMA there are many areas where annual lead deposition was substantially higher than recommended for aquatic (rivers, lakes, etc.) and terrestrial (forests, dunes, etc.) ecosystems. These lead levels result in decreased reproductive and growth rates in plants and animals, and neurological deficits in vertebrates. Conclusions: This lead-hazard and neighborhood context assessment will inform future childhood lead exposure studies and potential health consequences in the DMA.

Disparity in Risk Factor Severity for Early Childhood Blood Lead among Predominantly African-American Black Children: The 1999 to 2010 US NHANES

“…As mentioned earlier, previous research has demonstrated Black children are exposed to more Pb during early childhood, while an increasing and higher percent Black population is associated with greater amounts of environmental Pb exposure and more blood Pb among children. Higher airborne Pb emissions are correlated with increasing racial segregation of the Black population in the Detroit metropolitan area, which is a stronger predictor than poverty levels [48], while the authors also noted that unequal enforcement of environmental laws, emission standards, and remediation efforts by regulators in addition to facility siting preference by industry appear to play significant roles in these local racial disparities.…”

“…Black race remains a strong independent predictor of more blood Pb throughout childhood [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]. Geospatial analyses have demonstrated that increasing concentrations of exposure to Pb from the air, soil, water, or industrial releases are associated with early childhood BLLs [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54], while an increasing percent Black population is a strong predictor for higher blood Pb among young children in US cities, states, and nationwide across the US [32][33][34]39,40,53,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63]. Black children in the US are exposed to more Pb from their environment [47][48][49][50][64][65][66][67][68][69].…”

“…Ongoing leaded paint hazards in older US homes still requiring cost-prohibitive remediation disproportionately affect children who are Black [68,69]. Black children throughout the US are exposed to significantly more Pb from the ambient air [47,48]. In the Detroit metropolitan area, Pb-emitting industries are both primarily located within and currently relocating to predominantly Black neighborhoods irrespective of income levels [48].…”

“…Black children throughout the US are exposed to significantly more Pb from the ambient air [47,48]. In the Detroit metropolitan area, Pb-emitting industries are both primarily located within and currently relocating to predominantly Black neighborhoods irrespective of income levels [48]. Greater intensity of Pb soil contamination is associated with increasing percent Black populations in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina respectively where Pb-contaminated soils are largely confined to neighborhoods that are predominantly Black [64][65][66].…”

Global and Geographically Weighted Quantile Regression for Modeling the Incident Rate of Children’s Lead Poisoning in Syracuse, NY, USA

“…Therefore, lead poisoning is still a concern of public health in the inner and old industrial cities. The urban environment usually suffers from historically emitted leaded gasoline, smelters, iron and steel production, lead-acid-battery manufacturing, nonferrous (brass and bronze) foundries, landfills, waste incinerators, sewage sludge incinerators, hazardous waste sites, power plants (refineries/coal burning), and older homes that contain lead based paint/pipes [ 18 ]. Studies have shown that the incident rate of children’s lead poisoning was associated with environmental lead hazard exposure and socio-economic status such as the population density, proportion of houses built before 1950, percentage of poverty level and minority [ 19 , 20 ].…”