{"id":103,"date":"2017-06-24T22:16:32","date_gmt":"2017-06-24T22:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shiellab\/?page_id=103"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:23:08","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/shiellab\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"RESEARCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lead pollution\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

No safe level of lead exposure has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to negatively affect a child\u2019s IQ, ability to pay attention, and performance in school. Lead is a top risk factor for premature death in the USA, particularly from cardiovascular disease. My work includes spatial studies of modern and persistent legacy lead sources in urban centers and temporal studies examining historical trends of lead pollution.<\/p>\n

Spatial Studies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I evaluate distributions of environmental lead and identify lead sources in cities and remote areas. This information can be used to reduce environmental levels and human exposures.<\/p>\n

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Project highlight\u2014environmental lead from lead-sheathed telecom cables:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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In a new paper, found on the publishers website<\/a>, we report environmental lead levels up to 590 times greater in Portland than rural areas using moss. In addition, older Portland neighborhoods have lead levels about two times those of newer neighborhoods and 19 times higher than rural areas. The study finds that lead from the historical use of leaded gasoline remains a key source of lead in the city, decades after phasing out its use. The highest levels of the city are found near old overhead lead-sheathed telephone cables. We think this lead is being leached from the cables by rain on to the soil and vegetation below. More research is needed to determine if people are being exposed to this lead and how high lead levels are in the soil.<\/p>\n