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Lead in New York City Soils

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Megacities 2050: Environmental Consequences of Urbanization (ICLASCSD 2016)

Part of the book series: Springer Geography ((SPRINGERGEOGR))

Abstract

Urban soil is a sink for anthropogenic lead (Pb) and the latter is a persistent threat to human health, especially to children and the gardening population. In the past decade, several organizations have tested soil samples for Pb in New York City. Here we summarize the available soil Pb data for New York City and create a spatial distribution map. The highest Pb levels were present in the oldest parts of the city, and mostly industrial and high traffic areas. There is overlap between high Pb areas with areas of high population density and high poverty rates. The analyses help delineate parts of the city that are most affected, possible sources of Pb, and where to prioritize resources for mitigation and remediation.

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Acknowledgments

Colleen Simon and Zaw Win Naing from Midwood High School assisted in data entry and testing of some of the samples with a handheld XRF analyzer. The authors appreciate the following organizations for allowing us to include their soil Pb in this study: Brooklyn College Soil Testing Lab, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), USDA National Cooperative Soil Survey, US EPA SoilSHOP (formerly Soil Kitchen).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Ireyena Li, Zhongqi Cheng, Anna Paltseva, Tatiana Morin & Brianne Smith

  2. PhD Program in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Graduate Center of The City University of New York, 365 5th Avenue, New York, NY, USA

    Anna Paltseva

  3. USDA-NRCS Soil Survey, Somerset, NJ, 08873, USA

    Richard Shaw

Authors
  1. Ireyena Li
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  2. Zhongqi Cheng
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  3. Anna Paltseva
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  4. Tatiana Morin
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  5. Brianne Smith
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  6. Richard Shaw
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhongqi Cheng .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. RUDN University, Moscow, Russia

    Viacheslav I. Vasenev

  2. RUDN University, Moscow, Russia

    Elvira Dovletyarova

  3. City University of New York , New York, USA

    Zhongqi Chen

  4. Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Viterbo, Italy

    Riccardo Valentini

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Li, I., Cheng, Z., Paltseva, A., Morin, T., Smith, B., Shaw, R. (2018). Lead in New York City Soils. In: I. Vasenev, V., Dovletyarova, E., Chen, Z., Valentini, R. (eds) Megacities 2050: Environmental Consequences of Urbanization. ICLASCSD 2016. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70557-6_9

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