Contribution of lead in soil to children's lead burden, an update

Abstract

Blood lead levels in children in the USA have dropped dramatically since lead in food, air and drinking water was reduced. In inner cities and older residential areas, increased lead exposure may still be a problem because of dilapidated housing with high lead paint levels. In these areas, at mining sites and around smelters lead levels in soil may be very high. A review of many studies indicates that lead in soil or mine tailings does not make a meaningful contribution to lead absorption by children. The contribution of lead in soil to overall exposure, if any, lies within the variation of the analytical method for blood lead measurements. The results of exposure studies in the pediatric population reviewed in this article do not support exposure predictions for children under 6 years of age based on the US EPA Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model (using default parameters or using results obtained with in vitro digestion models). They also do not support predictions based on the percent of solubility of lead in soil (accessibility studies).