Children’s health and lead in soil

A study in which researchers compared data from 81,944 children’s blood samples collected by the Louisiana Healthy Homes and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program with topsoil lead assessments of 274 New Orleans communities found that median topsoil lead in communities decreased 44% between 1999 and 2017, and lead in children’s blood declined by 64% between 2000 and 2016, suggesting that decreasing lead in topsoil is a key factor in decreasing lead in children’s blood levels.

Article #19-06092: “The concurrent decline of soil lead and children’s blood lead in New Orleans,” by Howard W. Mielke et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Carolyn Scofield, Tulane University, LA; tel: 504-247-1443; email: <

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>; Howard W. Mielke, Tulane University, LA; tel: 504-988-3889; email:

[email protected]

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