Data Mapping to Identify High Lead Exposure Risk Locations in the U.S.

There is no level of lead exposure that is known to be without risk. While average blood lead levels in the United States have declined, millions of children and adults are still exposed to various sources of lead, especially in underserved communities. Significant disparities in lead exposure remain along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines. We understand many sources of lead exposure, for example paint in older homes, but limited data on sources and blood lead levels across the country make it difficult to identify communities that may have disproportionate exposures. (For more information, see the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Lead Exposure.)

EPA’s Lead Strategy, or the Strategy to Reduce Lead Exposures and Disparities in U.S. Communities, focuses on eliminating these disparities through identification and reduction of lead exposures with science-based coordinated approaches and stakeholder engagement. The Agency’s commitments under the Lead Strategy include developing and applying a “blueprint” for identifying locations with high potential lead exposure risk. This blueprint is to be shared with internal and external public health partners for broader applicability and capacity building in the United States.

EPA’s Lead Strategy aligns with, and supports the 2018 Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts (Action Plan), a product of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. The research goal (Goal 4) of the Action Plan includes, “Generate data, maps and mapping tools to identify high exposure communities or locations and disparities for prioritization efforts to reduce children’s blood lead levels.” The President’s Task Force priority activities for 2024-2028 include specific commitments on the lead mapping blueprint and pilot studies. To address the Agency’s commitments, EPA scientists are working collaboratively with federal and state partners to identify and address locations with high lead exposures.

Publications

  • A Generalizable Evaluated Approach, Applying Advanced Geospatial Statistical Methods, to Identify High Lead Exposure Locations at Census Tract Scale: Michigan Case Study
    • This paper presents an innovative science-based approach EPA developed and applied to identify areas with high prevalence of children’s elevated blood lead levels. Identifying locations with the highest percentage of elevated blood lead levels, and the contributing sources and exposures of those EBLLs, can assist with prioritizing actions to reduce, prevent, and mitigate lead exposure risk as called for in the Federal Lead Action Plan. EPA and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are using the results of this paper to inform lead actions.
  • Identification of High Lead Exposure Locations in Ohio at the Census Tract Scale Using a Generalizable Geospatial Hotspot Approach
    • In this publication, EPA identifies Ohio census tracts with high prevalence of children’s elevated blood lead levels and further evaluates lead exposure indices used as proxies for identifying hotspots. The study further tests and demonstrates the science-based approach that EPA developed with Michigan data. The published results were consistent with Ohio Department of Health targeted testing plans for lead screening and confirmed previous findings, that old housing and demographics are reasonable predictors of lead exposure.
  • A U.S. Lead Exposures Hotspots Analysis
    • Led by EPA’s Office of Research and Development with collaborating partners from Department of Housing and Urban Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, this paper identifies states and counties with highest potential lead exposure risk from old housing sources of lead, expanding the MI and OH papers methodology to national scale.
    • Since data on blood lead levels and lead sources are not available for all communities, these methodologies can help states and others use available data to identify areas for further investigation and action.
    • While lead data mapping and analyses continue to evolve, the results of this study support using available lead indices to identify potential high lead exposure risk locations in the absence of blood lead data and can inform further analyses for prioritizing actions.
  • Lead Data Mapping to Prioritize U.S. Locations for Whole-of-Government Exposure Prevention Efforts: State of the Science, Federal Collaborations, and Remaining Challenges
    • This paper summarizes and presents the state-of-the-science of publicly available methods, data (i.e., blood lead data, lead exposure indices, and environmental data), and maps for identifying U.S. lead exposure risk hotspots.
    • It discusses Federal collaborations and remaining challenges and presents the concept for a systematic approach (i.e., blueprint) utilizing data across agencies.
  • Targeting Coordinated Federal Efforts to Address Persistent Hazardous Exposures to Lead
    • This paper lays out how EPA, in collaboration with other federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Housing and Urban Development, is committed to preventing lead exposure and its health effects.
    • It includes a section on "targeting lead exposure hotspots” and discusses how Federal scientists are working to improve publicly available maps of lead exposure risk, using geospatial modeling and analyses to support the agencies’ related goals.

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Last updated on October 7, 2024