114-9 Sources of Lead (Pb) Contamination in New York City in Indoor Spaces

Session: Environmental Geochemistry and Health (Part I)

Presenting Author:

Arielle Rieder

Authors:

Rieder, Arielle¹, Spaeth, Oona², Haque, Ezazul³, Ross, James⁴, Halpert, Eden ⁵, Chillrud, Steve ⁶, Bostick, Benjamin C.⁷

(1) Barnard College, New York, NY, USA, (2) Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, (3) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, USA; City University of New York John Jay, New York, NY, USA, (4) Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, (5) Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, (6) Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, (7) Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA,

Abstract:

In cities, lead has been used for hundreds of years, with use increasing consistently over time, particularly after 1900. New York City grew extensively since the 19th century, largely during the heyday of lead use. Indoor dust is usually seen as the primary source of lead exposure. Because leaded paint is an indoor source, most resources are devoted to mitigating lead exposures from peeling paint, which can result in significant lead exposures. Assessing risks posed by indoor dusts in NYC buildings requires improved knowledge of the sources of lead to indoor dusts, whether from internal (paint) or external sources (paint in other buildings, soil dust, etc.). We have collected a wide range of paired samples of indoor dust and outdoor dust sources as part of this work. These elemental concentrations of each sample (analyzed using X-ray fluorescence) were used to identify sources of contamination, and the bioaccessibility of the lead within the sample was determined using a simulated gastric acid digestion of a small mass of selected samples. The interquartile range for the indoor total lead samples are from 44 to 734 ppm with the highest reported concentration at 49515 ppm lead. The outdoor dust samples from the same sites are uncorrelated to the indoor dust at the same sites, suggesting that the typical soil environment outside the home is generally not the source of indoor dust, particularly for dust samples that are high in lead. That said, the chemical composition of the outdoor and indoor samples have groupings with similar composition. Consistently high lead samples had chemical compositions that suggested the lead was derived from construction and demolition materials (such as lead paint) mixed with soils and other sources. These materials had reasonably high bioaccessibility. The high quantity of lead in these materials point to them being transported from other sites rather than originating directly from interior sources. We see construction sites as playing a role in these materials and we should aim to minimize dust emissions from construction materials. 

© Copyright 2026 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved.