Another way in which two places may be related or interconnected is based on the sharing of the s... more Another way in which two places may be related or interconnected is based on the sharing of the same individual organisms which move or migrate between them. No topic is more geographical in content and perspective than migration. Animal movement, especially long-distance movement, embodies all aspects of geographical phenomena such as navigation skills, and direction and distances of specific regions and places from each other.
When Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace jointly presented papers on the processes that operate to ... more When Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace jointly presented papers on the processes that operate to evolve new species before the Linnean Society in July, 1858, they sparked an era of debate and controversy. The continuing debate centers not on the fact of natural evolution but on the mechanisms of evolution. In many ways the modern discussion recalls the debates between catastrophists, progressionists, and uniformitarianists of Charles Lyell’s time in the 1830’s. Catastrophism held that there were worldwide breaks in the geologic and biologic record by forces more powerful than those being observed and experienced in contemporary times. At the time that catastrophism was a popular theory, Jean Baptiste Lamarck was carrying out experimental work on aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and their ability to survive within various regimes of atmospheric oxygen. Lamarck contributed to the understanding of organic evolution by noting advances in the complexity of the composition of fossils within geologic strata over time. Progressionism wedded the idea of catastrophism with Lamarck’s conception of advance in the complexity of life during geologic ages. It held that various geologic ages were closed with the extinction of all species by catastrophic events and that more advanced organisms successively arose (by the intervention of a deity) to mark the progression of the evolution of organisms. James Hutton and his student Charles Lyell emphasized the gradualness of evolution and suggested that the geologic record with its increasing variety of species could be fully explained by presently observable natural processes (Eiseley 1959, Browne 1983).
The patterns of life are influenced by many processes operating at different spatial and temporal... more The patterns of life are influenced by many processes operating at different spatial and temporal scales. The last two chapters focused on continental drift and glaciation. Continental drift is recognized as a geologic process that occurs on a global scale over the course of millions of years. Glaciation is a meteorological phenomenon that also has global geological impact, but operates in cycles of tens and hundreds of thousands of years. This chapter will focus on general meteorological phenomena of the Earth: weather and climate. Weather is the current condition of the atmosphere. Weather has diurnal and annual cycles and has an immediate impact on the Earth’s organisms. Climate is the long-term average of weather. Current practice in the United States describes climatic norms by using a 30-year mean which is updated each decade.
Part One was devoted to a discussion of physical features of the Solar System which influence som... more Part One was devoted to a discussion of physical features of the Solar System which influence some of the material and energy fluxes on the Earth. It describes the physical setting for the evolution of the Earth’s biosphere. Part Two examines the biogeographic events of the past and their influence on current patterns of life. In this chapter the sway of organisms on the Earth’s atmospheric and geologic features will be explored. Such influences are important because ultimately they have bearing on the evolution of the Earth and its organisms.
Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, May 1, 2004
Soil and sediment samples from New Orleans have been collected and analyzed for contamination by ... more Soil and sediment samples from New Orleans have been collected and analyzed for contamination by 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 8 trace metals. Total PAH contents were found to vary from 40 μ g/kg to 40,000 μ g/kg, and concentrations of total metals varied in the range of 80 mg/kg and 7600 mg/kg. Source analysis of PAHs using diagnostic
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2016
In Flint; MI; USA; a public health crisis resulted from the switching of the water supply from La... more In Flint; MI; USA; a public health crisis resulted from the switching of the water supply from Lake Huron to a more corrosive source from the Flint River in April 2014; which caused lead to leach from water lines. Between 2010 and 2015; Flint area children's average blood lead patterns display consistent peaks in the third quarter of the year. The third quarter blood lead peaks displayed a declining trend between 2010 and 2013; then rose abruptly between the third quarters of 2013 from 3.6% blood lead levels ě5 µg/dL to a peak of about 7% in the third quarter of 2014; an increase of approximately 50%. The percentage of blood lead level ě5 µg/dL in the first quarter of 2015 then dropped to 2.3%; which was the same percentage as the first quarter of 2014 (prior to the Flint River water source change). The Flint quarterly blood lead level peak then rose to about 6% blood lead levels ě 5 µg/dL in the third quarter of 2015; and then declined to about 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2015. Soil lead data collected by Edible Flint food collaborative reveal generally higher soil lead values in the metropolitan center for Flint; with lower values in the outskirts of the city. The questions that are not being asked is why did children's blood lead levels display a seasonal blood lead pattern before the introduction of the new water supply in Flint; and what are the implications of these seasonal blood lead patterns? Based upon previous findings in Detroit and other North American cities we infer that resuspension to the air of lead in the form of dust from lead contaminated soils in Flint appears to be a persistent contribution to lead exposure of Flint children even before the change in the water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River.
This commentary considers the long arc of lead (Pb) poisoning from
antiquity to the 21st century.... more This commentary considers the long arc of lead (Pb) poisoning from antiquity to the 21st century. While Pb exposure is commonly attributed to paint or water, this article aims to discuss the underrecognized impacts of air Pb and soil Pb and to address controversial misconceptions related to these exposure sources. The Roman Aristocracy experienced lead poisoning mainly from the ingestion of foods, lead cookware, and lead-contaminated water and wine, but by the 20th century, lead exposure occurred by ingestion and inhalation. The introduction of tetraethyl lead (TEL) additives in gasoline was approved in 1925 in the US and produced an exponential increase in inhalable air lead exhaust particles through the 1970s. These five decades of widespread lead aerosol exposure were enabled by the Lead Industries Association (LIA), which confounded pediatricians, healthcare providers, and government agencies by promoting lead-based paint as the primary agent of childhood lead exposure. Empirical evidence of lead poisoning, environmental exposures, and proactive lead prevention in the general population was impossible until analytical instruments became commonly available for clinical studies and environmental measurements in the 1960s and 1970s. Soil studies in Baltimore, Maryland, beginning in the mid-1970s, indicated that lead particles exhausted from vehicles fueled by leaded gasoline excessively contaminated urban soils compared with non-urban soils. The invisible lead-contaminated air fouled multiple exposure routes via inhalation and ingestion. In addition to misunderstandings about sources of lead exposure, misinformation currently abounds regarding the timeline of banning lead in gasoline. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists the ban as beginning in 1996. The banning of leaded gasoline first occurred in Japan starting in 1972, and after a 1984 Senate Hearing, the US Congress agreed on a rapid phasedown. A US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) timeline confirmed that most leaded gasoline was banned by the end of 1986. Banning leaded gasoline was associated with sharp declines in the US population’s blood lead, which prompted global efforts to ban leaded gasoline. The eventual result was a complete global ban on highway use of leaded gasoline achieved in August 2021. Leaded gasoline is still used in piston-engine aircraft and the US EPA is proceeding to complete the ban on lead additives in fuel. Using precautionary principles to recover lead-contaminated urban environments and prevent new toxicant exposures are essential challenges and opportunities for present and future generations.
Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a pha... more Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a phasedown of leaded petrol to prevent spoiling catalytic converters, mandatory on all new US cars in 1975. With prompting by citizens and the Minnesota legislature, the US Congress required the US EPA to enforce a rapid phasedown on 1 January 1986 until the final ban of leaded petrol for highway vehicles on 1 January 1996. This article reviews the outcomes of curtailing leaded petrol on the temporal and spatial changes of pediatric blood Pb and soil lead (Pb) in metropolitan New Orleans and beyond. In 2001, a soil Pb survey was completed for all census tracts of metropolitan New Orleans. In 2006, after major flooding by Hurricane Katrina, a preliminary survey of 44 census tracts showed that the median soil Pb and children's median blood Pb decreased across flooded and unflooded communities. In June 2017 a second survey was completed in all census tracts. Evaluation of pediatric blood Pb and soil Pb in matching census tracts (N=274) confirmed that curtailing leaded petrol diminished children's exposure and concurrently reduced soil Pb. The concurrent temporal and spatial declines of children's exposure and soil Pb were also observed in the Detroit Tri-County Area of Michigan. Curtailing leaded petrol was gradually accepted, and on 30 August 2021, 35 years after the US EPA phasedown, leaded petrol was banned by all nations. Eliminating leaded petrol was an essential step for primary Pb prevention of pediatric exposure and improving community health. Continuing efforts are required to reduce legacy-soil Pb that persists disproportionately in traffic congested, older, inner-city, urban areas, and other communities subjected to large inputs of Pb aerosols.
In 1925, a U.S. conference on lead (Pb) additives tacitly approved their use in petrol. Over five... more In 1925, a U.S. conference on lead (Pb) additives tacitly approved their use in petrol. Over five-decades an exponential increase of air lead occurred from commercial marketing of leaded petrol and the sale of automobiles. The ability to measure microgram quantities of Pb was unavailable to medical researchers until the late 1960s and early 1970s. The clinical application of advanced analytical technology demonstrated that pediatric lead exposure was excessive. Beginning in the mid-1970s, actions were taken to curtail Pb additive and decreases of pediatric lead poisoning coincided with decreased air Pb from leaded petrol use. Exogenous Pb exhaust particles are absorbed through inhalation and ingestion routes of exposure. Exogenous Pb is metabolically mistaken for calcium and stored endogenously in bones, teeth, and other tissues. Endogenous Pb has intergenerational effects. All organs, most notably the nervous system, are affected. Clinical studies indicate that there is no safe lev...
Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a pha... more Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a phasedown of leaded petrol to prevent spoiling catalytic converters, mandatory on all new US cars in 1975. With prompting by citizens and the Minnesota legislature, the US Congress required the US EPA to enforce a rapid phasedown on 1 January 1986 until the final ban of leaded petrol for highway vehicles on 1 January 1996. This article reviews the outcomes of curtailing leaded petrol on the temporal and spatial changes of pediatric blood Pb and soil lead (Pb) in metropolitan New Orleans. In 2001, a soil Pb survey was completed for all census tracts of metropolitan New Orleans. In 2006, after major flooding by Hurricane Katrina, a preliminary survey of 44 census tracts showed that the median soil Pb and children’s median blood Pb decreased across flooded and unflooded communities. In June 2017 a second survey was completed in all census tracts. Evaluation of pediatric blood Pb and soil Pb in...
Soils in older areas of cities are highly contaminated by lead, due largely to past use of lead a... more Soils in older areas of cities are highly contaminated by lead, due largely to past use of lead additives in gasoline, the use of lead in exterior paints, and industrial lead sources. Soils are not passive repositories and periodic re-suspension of fine lead contaminated soil dust particulates (or aerosols) may create seasonal variations of lead exposure for urban dwellers. Atmospheric soil and lead aerosol data from the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) database were obtained for Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, and Birmingham (Alabama), USA. The temporal variations of atmospheric soil and lead aerosols in these four US cities were examined to determine whether re-suspended lead contaminated urban soil was the dominant source of atmospheric lead. Soil and lead-in-air concentrations were examined to ascertain whether lead aerosols follow seasonal patterns with highest concentrations during the summer and/or autumn. Atmospheric soil and lead aerosol concentrations on weekends and Federal holidays were compared to weekdays to evaluate the possibility that automotive turbulence results in re-suspension of lead contaminated urban soil. The results show that the natural logs of atmospheric soil and lead aerosols were associated in Pittsburgh from April 2004 to July 2005 (R²=0.31, p < 0.01), Detroit from November 2003 to July 2005 (R²=0.49, p <0.01), Chicago from November 2003 to August 2005 (R²=0.32, p < 0.01), and Birmingham from May 2004 to December 2006 (R²=0.47, p < 0.01). Atmospheric soil and lead aerosols followed seasonal patterns with highest concentrations during the summer and/or autumn. Atmospheric soil and lead aerosols are 3.15 and 3.12 times higher, respectively, during weekdays than weekends and Federal Government holidays, suggesting that automotive traffic turbulence plays a significant role in re-suspension of contaminated roadside soils and dusts. To decrease urban atmospheric Pb concentrations, subsequent Pb-rich dust deposition and penetration into homes, and its consequent deleterious effect in childhood Pb levels, it is necessary to remediate and or isolate urban soils contaminated with Pb. While the US Federal Government has enacted legislation covering clean air and clean water, there is no universal clean soil act, although there are several standards pertaining to acceptable values. These guidelines are inconsistent across the US and in light of the evidence, they need to be harmonized and re-evaluated so as to develop a unified strategy to mitigate an unnecessary and preventable exposure pathway.1 page(s
Primary production refers to the production of organic matter by photosynthesis. As the principal... more Primary production refers to the production of organic matter by photosynthesis. As the principal producers of all of the Earth’s carbohydrates, terrestrial plants have been the traditional focus of biogeography. In this chapter the focus will be on biogeographic processes by describing both marine and terrestrial plants.
The feather has been widely used as a indicator tissue of metal exposure in birds. The feathers w... more The feather has been widely used as a indicator tissue of metal exposure in birds. The feathers were collected from Tuskegee University poultry farm (TUPF) and Harrison Poultry farm (HPF) chicken and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy for lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, and copper contaminations. The mean levels of lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, and copper in TUPF chicken were 3.67, 0.13, 12.23, 0.22, and 7.71 ppm, respectively, and in HPF chicken were 5.32, 0.096, 11.03, 0.15, and 8.06 ppm, respectively. The mean levels of these metals did not show any significant difference between TUPF and HPF chicken.
Another way in which two places may be related or interconnected is based on the sharing of the s... more Another way in which two places may be related or interconnected is based on the sharing of the same individual organisms which move or migrate between them. No topic is more geographical in content and perspective than migration. Animal movement, especially long-distance movement, embodies all aspects of geographical phenomena such as navigation skills, and direction and distances of specific regions and places from each other.
When Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace jointly presented papers on the processes that operate to ... more When Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace jointly presented papers on the processes that operate to evolve new species before the Linnean Society in July, 1858, they sparked an era of debate and controversy. The continuing debate centers not on the fact of natural evolution but on the mechanisms of evolution. In many ways the modern discussion recalls the debates between catastrophists, progressionists, and uniformitarianists of Charles Lyell’s time in the 1830’s. Catastrophism held that there were worldwide breaks in the geologic and biologic record by forces more powerful than those being observed and experienced in contemporary times. At the time that catastrophism was a popular theory, Jean Baptiste Lamarck was carrying out experimental work on aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and their ability to survive within various regimes of atmospheric oxygen. Lamarck contributed to the understanding of organic evolution by noting advances in the complexity of the composition of fossils within geologic strata over time. Progressionism wedded the idea of catastrophism with Lamarck’s conception of advance in the complexity of life during geologic ages. It held that various geologic ages were closed with the extinction of all species by catastrophic events and that more advanced organisms successively arose (by the intervention of a deity) to mark the progression of the evolution of organisms. James Hutton and his student Charles Lyell emphasized the gradualness of evolution and suggested that the geologic record with its increasing variety of species could be fully explained by presently observable natural processes (Eiseley 1959, Browne 1983).
The patterns of life are influenced by many processes operating at different spatial and temporal... more The patterns of life are influenced by many processes operating at different spatial and temporal scales. The last two chapters focused on continental drift and glaciation. Continental drift is recognized as a geologic process that occurs on a global scale over the course of millions of years. Glaciation is a meteorological phenomenon that also has global geological impact, but operates in cycles of tens and hundreds of thousands of years. This chapter will focus on general meteorological phenomena of the Earth: weather and climate. Weather is the current condition of the atmosphere. Weather has diurnal and annual cycles and has an immediate impact on the Earth’s organisms. Climate is the long-term average of weather. Current practice in the United States describes climatic norms by using a 30-year mean which is updated each decade.
Part One was devoted to a discussion of physical features of the Solar System which influence som... more Part One was devoted to a discussion of physical features of the Solar System which influence some of the material and energy fluxes on the Earth. It describes the physical setting for the evolution of the Earth’s biosphere. Part Two examines the biogeographic events of the past and their influence on current patterns of life. In this chapter the sway of organisms on the Earth’s atmospheric and geologic features will be explored. Such influences are important because ultimately they have bearing on the evolution of the Earth and its organisms.
Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, May 1, 2004
Soil and sediment samples from New Orleans have been collected and analyzed for contamination by ... more Soil and sediment samples from New Orleans have been collected and analyzed for contamination by 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 8 trace metals. Total PAH contents were found to vary from 40 μ g/kg to 40,000 μ g/kg, and concentrations of total metals varied in the range of 80 mg/kg and 7600 mg/kg. Source analysis of PAHs using diagnostic
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2016
In Flint; MI; USA; a public health crisis resulted from the switching of the water supply from La... more In Flint; MI; USA; a public health crisis resulted from the switching of the water supply from Lake Huron to a more corrosive source from the Flint River in April 2014; which caused lead to leach from water lines. Between 2010 and 2015; Flint area children's average blood lead patterns display consistent peaks in the third quarter of the year. The third quarter blood lead peaks displayed a declining trend between 2010 and 2013; then rose abruptly between the third quarters of 2013 from 3.6% blood lead levels ě5 µg/dL to a peak of about 7% in the third quarter of 2014; an increase of approximately 50%. The percentage of blood lead level ě5 µg/dL in the first quarter of 2015 then dropped to 2.3%; which was the same percentage as the first quarter of 2014 (prior to the Flint River water source change). The Flint quarterly blood lead level peak then rose to about 6% blood lead levels ě 5 µg/dL in the third quarter of 2015; and then declined to about 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2015. Soil lead data collected by Edible Flint food collaborative reveal generally higher soil lead values in the metropolitan center for Flint; with lower values in the outskirts of the city. The questions that are not being asked is why did children's blood lead levels display a seasonal blood lead pattern before the introduction of the new water supply in Flint; and what are the implications of these seasonal blood lead patterns? Based upon previous findings in Detroit and other North American cities we infer that resuspension to the air of lead in the form of dust from lead contaminated soils in Flint appears to be a persistent contribution to lead exposure of Flint children even before the change in the water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River.
This commentary considers the long arc of lead (Pb) poisoning from
antiquity to the 21st century.... more This commentary considers the long arc of lead (Pb) poisoning from antiquity to the 21st century. While Pb exposure is commonly attributed to paint or water, this article aims to discuss the underrecognized impacts of air Pb and soil Pb and to address controversial misconceptions related to these exposure sources. The Roman Aristocracy experienced lead poisoning mainly from the ingestion of foods, lead cookware, and lead-contaminated water and wine, but by the 20th century, lead exposure occurred by ingestion and inhalation. The introduction of tetraethyl lead (TEL) additives in gasoline was approved in 1925 in the US and produced an exponential increase in inhalable air lead exhaust particles through the 1970s. These five decades of widespread lead aerosol exposure were enabled by the Lead Industries Association (LIA), which confounded pediatricians, healthcare providers, and government agencies by promoting lead-based paint as the primary agent of childhood lead exposure. Empirical evidence of lead poisoning, environmental exposures, and proactive lead prevention in the general population was impossible until analytical instruments became commonly available for clinical studies and environmental measurements in the 1960s and 1970s. Soil studies in Baltimore, Maryland, beginning in the mid-1970s, indicated that lead particles exhausted from vehicles fueled by leaded gasoline excessively contaminated urban soils compared with non-urban soils. The invisible lead-contaminated air fouled multiple exposure routes via inhalation and ingestion. In addition to misunderstandings about sources of lead exposure, misinformation currently abounds regarding the timeline of banning lead in gasoline. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists the ban as beginning in 1996. The banning of leaded gasoline first occurred in Japan starting in 1972, and after a 1984 Senate Hearing, the US Congress agreed on a rapid phasedown. A US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) timeline confirmed that most leaded gasoline was banned by the end of 1986. Banning leaded gasoline was associated with sharp declines in the US population’s blood lead, which prompted global efforts to ban leaded gasoline. The eventual result was a complete global ban on highway use of leaded gasoline achieved in August 2021. Leaded gasoline is still used in piston-engine aircraft and the US EPA is proceeding to complete the ban on lead additives in fuel. Using precautionary principles to recover lead-contaminated urban environments and prevent new toxicant exposures are essential challenges and opportunities for present and future generations.
Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a pha... more Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a phasedown of leaded petrol to prevent spoiling catalytic converters, mandatory on all new US cars in 1975. With prompting by citizens and the Minnesota legislature, the US Congress required the US EPA to enforce a rapid phasedown on 1 January 1986 until the final ban of leaded petrol for highway vehicles on 1 January 1996. This article reviews the outcomes of curtailing leaded petrol on the temporal and spatial changes of pediatric blood Pb and soil lead (Pb) in metropolitan New Orleans and beyond. In 2001, a soil Pb survey was completed for all census tracts of metropolitan New Orleans. In 2006, after major flooding by Hurricane Katrina, a preliminary survey of 44 census tracts showed that the median soil Pb and children's median blood Pb decreased across flooded and unflooded communities. In June 2017 a second survey was completed in all census tracts. Evaluation of pediatric blood Pb and soil Pb in matching census tracts (N=274) confirmed that curtailing leaded petrol diminished children's exposure and concurrently reduced soil Pb. The concurrent temporal and spatial declines of children's exposure and soil Pb were also observed in the Detroit Tri-County Area of Michigan. Curtailing leaded petrol was gradually accepted, and on 30 August 2021, 35 years after the US EPA phasedown, leaded petrol was banned by all nations. Eliminating leaded petrol was an essential step for primary Pb prevention of pediatric exposure and improving community health. Continuing efforts are required to reduce legacy-soil Pb that persists disproportionately in traffic congested, older, inner-city, urban areas, and other communities subjected to large inputs of Pb aerosols.
In 1925, a U.S. conference on lead (Pb) additives tacitly approved their use in petrol. Over five... more In 1925, a U.S. conference on lead (Pb) additives tacitly approved their use in petrol. Over five-decades an exponential increase of air lead occurred from commercial marketing of leaded petrol and the sale of automobiles. The ability to measure microgram quantities of Pb was unavailable to medical researchers until the late 1960s and early 1970s. The clinical application of advanced analytical technology demonstrated that pediatric lead exposure was excessive. Beginning in the mid-1970s, actions were taken to curtail Pb additive and decreases of pediatric lead poisoning coincided with decreased air Pb from leaded petrol use. Exogenous Pb exhaust particles are absorbed through inhalation and ingestion routes of exposure. Exogenous Pb is metabolically mistaken for calcium and stored endogenously in bones, teeth, and other tissues. Endogenous Pb has intergenerational effects. All organs, most notably the nervous system, are affected. Clinical studies indicate that there is no safe lev...
Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a pha... more Five decades after the US approval of the commercial use of leaded petrol, the US EPA began a phasedown of leaded petrol to prevent spoiling catalytic converters, mandatory on all new US cars in 1975. With prompting by citizens and the Minnesota legislature, the US Congress required the US EPA to enforce a rapid phasedown on 1 January 1986 until the final ban of leaded petrol for highway vehicles on 1 January 1996. This article reviews the outcomes of curtailing leaded petrol on the temporal and spatial changes of pediatric blood Pb and soil lead (Pb) in metropolitan New Orleans. In 2001, a soil Pb survey was completed for all census tracts of metropolitan New Orleans. In 2006, after major flooding by Hurricane Katrina, a preliminary survey of 44 census tracts showed that the median soil Pb and children’s median blood Pb decreased across flooded and unflooded communities. In June 2017 a second survey was completed in all census tracts. Evaluation of pediatric blood Pb and soil Pb in...
Soils in older areas of cities are highly contaminated by lead, due largely to past use of lead a... more Soils in older areas of cities are highly contaminated by lead, due largely to past use of lead additives in gasoline, the use of lead in exterior paints, and industrial lead sources. Soils are not passive repositories and periodic re-suspension of fine lead contaminated soil dust particulates (or aerosols) may create seasonal variations of lead exposure for urban dwellers. Atmospheric soil and lead aerosol data from the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) database were obtained for Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, and Birmingham (Alabama), USA. The temporal variations of atmospheric soil and lead aerosols in these four US cities were examined to determine whether re-suspended lead contaminated urban soil was the dominant source of atmospheric lead. Soil and lead-in-air concentrations were examined to ascertain whether lead aerosols follow seasonal patterns with highest concentrations during the summer and/or autumn. Atmospheric soil and lead aerosol concentrations on weekends and Federal holidays were compared to weekdays to evaluate the possibility that automotive turbulence results in re-suspension of lead contaminated urban soil. The results show that the natural logs of atmospheric soil and lead aerosols were associated in Pittsburgh from April 2004 to July 2005 (R²=0.31, p < 0.01), Detroit from November 2003 to July 2005 (R²=0.49, p <0.01), Chicago from November 2003 to August 2005 (R²=0.32, p < 0.01), and Birmingham from May 2004 to December 2006 (R²=0.47, p < 0.01). Atmospheric soil and lead aerosols followed seasonal patterns with highest concentrations during the summer and/or autumn. Atmospheric soil and lead aerosols are 3.15 and 3.12 times higher, respectively, during weekdays than weekends and Federal Government holidays, suggesting that automotive traffic turbulence plays a significant role in re-suspension of contaminated roadside soils and dusts. To decrease urban atmospheric Pb concentrations, subsequent Pb-rich dust deposition and penetration into homes, and its consequent deleterious effect in childhood Pb levels, it is necessary to remediate and or isolate urban soils contaminated with Pb. While the US Federal Government has enacted legislation covering clean air and clean water, there is no universal clean soil act, although there are several standards pertaining to acceptable values. These guidelines are inconsistent across the US and in light of the evidence, they need to be harmonized and re-evaluated so as to develop a unified strategy to mitigate an unnecessary and preventable exposure pathway.1 page(s
Primary production refers to the production of organic matter by photosynthesis. As the principal... more Primary production refers to the production of organic matter by photosynthesis. As the principal producers of all of the Earth’s carbohydrates, terrestrial plants have been the traditional focus of biogeography. In this chapter the focus will be on biogeographic processes by describing both marine and terrestrial plants.
The feather has been widely used as a indicator tissue of metal exposure in birds. The feathers w... more The feather has been widely used as a indicator tissue of metal exposure in birds. The feathers were collected from Tuskegee University poultry farm (TUPF) and Harrison Poultry farm (HPF) chicken and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy for lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, and copper contaminations. The mean levels of lead, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, and copper in TUPF chicken were 3.67, 0.13, 12.23, 0.22, and 7.71 ppm, respectively, and in HPF chicken were 5.32, 0.096, 11.03, 0.15, and 8.06 ppm, respectively. The mean levels of these metals did not show any significant difference between TUPF and HPF chicken.
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Papers by Howard Mielke
antiquity to the 21st century. While Pb exposure is commonly
attributed to paint or water, this article aims to discuss the
underrecognized impacts of air Pb and soil Pb and to address
controversial misconceptions related to these exposure sources. The
Roman Aristocracy experienced lead poisoning mainly from the
ingestion of foods, lead cookware, and lead-contaminated water and
wine, but by the 20th century, lead exposure occurred by ingestion
and inhalation. The introduction of tetraethyl lead (TEL) additives in
gasoline was approved in 1925 in the US and produced an
exponential increase in inhalable air lead exhaust particles through
the 1970s. These five decades of widespread lead aerosol exposure
were enabled by the Lead Industries Association (LIA), which
confounded pediatricians, healthcare providers, and government
agencies by promoting lead-based paint as the primary agent of
childhood lead exposure. Empirical evidence of lead poisoning,
environmental exposures, and proactive lead prevention in the
general population was impossible until analytical instruments became
commonly available for clinical studies and environmental
measurements in the 1960s and 1970s. Soil studies in Baltimore,
Maryland, beginning in the mid-1970s, indicated that lead particles
exhausted from vehicles fueled by leaded gasoline excessively
contaminated urban soils compared with non-urban soils. The invisible
lead-contaminated air fouled multiple exposure routes via inhalation
and ingestion. In addition to misunderstandings about sources of lead
exposure, misinformation currently abounds regarding the timeline of
banning lead in gasoline. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC)
lists the ban as beginning in 1996. The banning of leaded gasoline
first occurred in Japan starting in 1972, and after a 1984 Senate
Hearing, the US Congress agreed on a rapid phasedown. A US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) timeline confirmed that most
leaded gasoline was banned by the end of 1986. Banning leaded
gasoline was associated with sharp declines in the US population’s
blood lead, which prompted global efforts to ban leaded gasoline.
The eventual result was a complete global ban on highway use of
leaded gasoline achieved in August 2021. Leaded gasoline is still
used in piston-engine aircraft and the US EPA is proceeding to
complete the ban on lead additives in fuel. Using precautionary
principles to recover lead-contaminated urban environments and
prevent new toxicant exposures are essential challenges and
opportunities for present and future generations.
antiquity to the 21st century. While Pb exposure is commonly
attributed to paint or water, this article aims to discuss the
underrecognized impacts of air Pb and soil Pb and to address
controversial misconceptions related to these exposure sources. The
Roman Aristocracy experienced lead poisoning mainly from the
ingestion of foods, lead cookware, and lead-contaminated water and
wine, but by the 20th century, lead exposure occurred by ingestion
and inhalation. The introduction of tetraethyl lead (TEL) additives in
gasoline was approved in 1925 in the US and produced an
exponential increase in inhalable air lead exhaust particles through
the 1970s. These five decades of widespread lead aerosol exposure
were enabled by the Lead Industries Association (LIA), which
confounded pediatricians, healthcare providers, and government
agencies by promoting lead-based paint as the primary agent of
childhood lead exposure. Empirical evidence of lead poisoning,
environmental exposures, and proactive lead prevention in the
general population was impossible until analytical instruments became
commonly available for clinical studies and environmental
measurements in the 1960s and 1970s. Soil studies in Baltimore,
Maryland, beginning in the mid-1970s, indicated that lead particles
exhausted from vehicles fueled by leaded gasoline excessively
contaminated urban soils compared with non-urban soils. The invisible
lead-contaminated air fouled multiple exposure routes via inhalation
and ingestion. In addition to misunderstandings about sources of lead
exposure, misinformation currently abounds regarding the timeline of
banning lead in gasoline. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC)
lists the ban as beginning in 1996. The banning of leaded gasoline
first occurred in Japan starting in 1972, and after a 1984 Senate
Hearing, the US Congress agreed on a rapid phasedown. A US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) timeline confirmed that most
leaded gasoline was banned by the end of 1986. Banning leaded
gasoline was associated with sharp declines in the US population’s
blood lead, which prompted global efforts to ban leaded gasoline.
The eventual result was a complete global ban on highway use of
leaded gasoline achieved in August 2021. Leaded gasoline is still
used in piston-engine aircraft and the US EPA is proceeding to
complete the ban on lead additives in fuel. Using precautionary
principles to recover lead-contaminated urban environments and
prevent new toxicant exposures are essential challenges and
opportunities for present and future generations.