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Soil Samples Reveal High Lead Levels in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward Neighborhood

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14 Nov, 2024

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

In a new study, scientists tested soil samples from residential and play areas in the Greater Fifth Ward, a neighborhood of Houston, Texas and found high concentrations of lead.

The researchers tested for heavy metals and metalloids, such as lead, arsenic and mercury. While the levels for most of the heavy metals and metalloids appeared in line or lower than usual for urban locations, the average amount of lead was higher than the typical amount of lead present in soil in Texas. The team published their findings in Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

The scientists found a median of 400 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil in seven samples from play areas and 1,200 milligrams per kilogram in three residential soil samples. But the actual amount of lead could be even higher, as the team did not account for lead-based paint or vehicle fuel.

“Heavy metals and metalloids have been extensively studied and regulated over the past 50 years, but evidence is growing that contact is more prevalent than previously thought, especially in so-called cancer clusters like the Greater Fifth Ward, where most residents are socioeconomically disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities,” Dr. Garett Sansom, an author of the study and research assistant professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health, said in a statement.

Downtown Houston and the Greater Fifth Ward seen on Feb. 24, 2019. Adam Reeder / Flickr

For the study, researchers partnered with Coalition of Community Organizations and IMPACT GFW and worked with local residents to conduct the testing. They collected 193 soil samples and tested them for lead, barium, chromium, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, mercury and silver. Lead, barium and chromium had the highest concentrations, but only lead was at a higher level than expected for a city.

As reported by Houston Landing, the Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood is part of a “cancer cluster” area with contaminated soil and groundwater that has exposed residents to higher risks of cancer and other diseases for decades.

A child plays in a park in Houston’s Fifth Ward. Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

In 2023, Houston officials passed a $5 million plan to offer money to residents in the area to voluntarily relocate, because of 110 houses near the former Union Pacific Railroad site. But as Houston Landing reported, development in the Greater Fifth Ward has still pushed forward, and many residents are moving to the area with no warning of the contamination.

Researchers and community members worked together to create mailers that were sent to residents to inform them of the study results, and a town hall also notified residents and provided more information. 

In concluding the study, researchers warned that the high concentrations of lead discovered in the samples require a deeper investigation, and they highlighted the importance of working with the community to do this work.

“This study provided a baseline that could aid the development of environmental protection programs,” Sansom said. “In addition, the involvement of community partners was critical to its success and should be used as a model for future research with vulnerable populations and other direct stakeholders.”

The post Soil Samples Reveal High Lead Levels in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward Neighborhood appeared first on EcoWatch.

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An international team of scientists, led jointly by The University of Melbourne and Seoul National University, has found global water storage on land has plummeted since the start of the 21st century, overtaking glacier melt as the leading cause of sea level rise and measurably shifting the Earth’s pole of rotation.

Published in Science, the research combined global soil moisture data estimated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Reanalysis v5 (ERA5), global mean sea level measurements and observations of Earth’s pole movement in order to estimate changes in terrestrial (land) water storage (TWS) from 1979 to 2016.

“The study raises critical questions about the main drivers of declining water storage on land and whether global lands will continue to become drier,” University of Melbourne author Professor Dongryeol Ryu said.

“Water constantly cycles between land and oceans, but the current rate of water loss from land is outpacing its replenishment. This is potentially irreversible because it’s unlikely this trend will reverse if global temperatures and evaporative demand continue to rise at their current rates. Without substantial changes in climate patterns, the imbalance in the water cycle is likely to persist, leading to a net loss of water from land to oceans over time.”

Between 2000 and 2002, soil moisture decreased by around 1614 gigatonnes (1 Gt equals 1 km3 of water) — nearly double Greenland’s ice loss of about 900 Gt in 2002–2006. From 2003 to 2016, soil moisture depletion continued, with an additional 1009 Gt lost.

Soil moisture had not recovered as of 2021, with little likelihood of recovery under present climate conditions. The authors say this decline is corroborated by independent observations of global mean sea level rise (~4.4 mm) and Earth’s polar shift (~45 cm in 2003–2012).

Water loss was most pronounced across East and Central Asia, Central Africa, and North and South America. In Australia, the growing depletion has impacted parts of Western Australia and south-eastern Australia, including western Victoria, although the Northern Territory and Queensland saw a small replenishment of soil moisture.

Image credit: iStock.com/ZU_09

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