Spatial And Temporal Relationships Between Blood Lead And Soil Lead Concentrations In Detroit, Michigan

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BLOOD LEADAND SOIL LEAD CONCENTRATIONS IN DETROIT, MICHIGANbyMICHAEL JONATHAN BICKELDecember 2010 Advisor: Dr. Shawn P. McElmurryMajor: Civil & Environmental EngineeringDegree: Master of ScienceThis study explored variations in child blood lead levels (BLLs) relative to street-side soil lead inDetroit, Michigan. Findings showed that average BLLs steadily decreased throughout Detroit from 2000through 2009. Soil lead samples from 58 locations showed spatial continuity with a range of 1,000-1,500feet and a relative nugget of 25-36%. Average BLLs over a US census tract were also found to be spatiallycontinuous while individual BLLs were not, suggesting that individual BLLs may not be predictable byenvironmental variables. The equation previously developed by Mielke et al. (2007) predicting averageBLLs based on soil lead concentrations observed in New Orleans, Louisiana was not found to accuratelydescribe Detroit data. An alternative linear equation is proposed that describes average BLLs as afunction of average soil lead concentrations. Additionally, results suggest that in some areas average BLLs may be decreasing concurrently with soil lead concentrations.