jack caravanos | New York University (original) (raw)

Papers by jack caravanos

Journal of Health and Pollution, Jun 1, 2013

Background. Tema, Ghana's main industrial city, has many areas that are suspected to be contamina... more Background. Tema, Ghana's main industrial city, has many areas that are suspected to be contaminated by lead. Elevated lead levels can affect, among many other issues, mental development, kidney function and blood chemistry. Children are particularly at risk. Objectives. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of lead in soil from selected sites in Tema and how these levels relate to local pediatric blood lead predictions. Methods. A total of 47 surface soil samples were taken from 9 different sites. Energy dispersive X-ray technique was employed to determine the levels of lead. Pediatric blood lead levels were estimated using the Integrated Exposure Uptake Bio-Kinetic Model For Lead in Children, developed by the U.S. EPA. Results. The study revealed that the selected sites are highly contaminated by lead. In particular, the concentration of Pb in soil at a used lead acid battery recycling facility exceeded regulatory limits for industrial soil as set by the U.S. EPA. The model for predicting concentrations of lead in the blood of age-specific children showed extremely high probabilities of BLLs exceeding regulatory limits. Conclusions. Based on the results of soil testing, sites that were expected to reveal lead exposure positively demonstrated high levels of contamination, in some areas exceeding U.S. and other national regulatory limits. This information is expected to help authorities make informed clean-up decisions.

Journal of Health and Pollution, Feb 1, 2011

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Nov 7, 2014

Lead poisoning can have devastating health consequences, especially for children, with childhood ... more Lead poisoning can have devastating health consequences, especially for children, with childhood lead exposure estimated to contribute to 600,000 new cases globally of children with intellectual disabilities every year. Lead exposure is entirely preventable, yet is estimated to account for 0.6% of the global burden of disease, with the highest burden in developing regions. Kabwe, the second largest city in Zambia with a population of approximately 203,000, is located in Zambia's Copperbelt. During 1904-1994, lead mining and smelting operations contaminated the soil in residential areas, but no extensive environmental health assessment was completed. In 2003, the World Bank funded the Copperbelt Environmental Project to assist the Government of Zambia in addressing environmental health problems related to the mining sector. Components of the project included removal of mining waste materials, soil remediation, resident evacuation, and treatment of lead-exposed children. During July 22-28, 2014, a team from PureEarth/Blacksmith Institute, the City University of New York School of Public Health, and Green Cross Switzerland conducted extensive surface soil testing and blood lead testing of children in six communities adjacent to the now-closed Kabwe mines and smelters.

PubMed, Nov 7, 2014

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Jun 1, 2005

Chemosphere, Dec 1, 2006

In an effort to determine the source of exterior lead contamination, we investigated the concentr... more In an effort to determine the source of exterior lead contamination, we investigated the concentration of lead in roadway grit along major thoroughfares in New York City and in certain areas under elevated steel structures supporting elevated rails. Such structures represent only one source of lead in roadway grit. While data revealed that the median lead concentration in roadway grit did not exceed the standard for a lead hazard in bare residential soil in any borough, the limit of 400 microg/g was exceeded 22%, 18%, 10.5%, and 7.7% of the time in Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens, respectively. The second part of the study revealed the presence of high concentrations of lead in roadway grit directly under elevated steel structures. The differences in the concentration of lead in roadway grit under steel structures in comparison to areas in NYC not near elevated rails was statistically significant. Of the eight sites studied from 225 total samples, the median roadway grit lead level was 340 ppm, while the level under steel structures was 1480 ppm. Preliminary efforts to determine particle size distribution revealed that 84% of the particles were in the range of 125-500 microm, but the highest concentration of lead was in the smallest fraction analyzed (&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;63 microm). Lead contamination of roadway grit from restoration of elevated painted steel structures is a public health problem as these lead particulates get re-suspended in the ambient environment and are wafted and tracked into residences.

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2013

Background. Tema, Ghana's main industrial city, has many areas that are suspected to be conta... more Background. Tema, Ghana's main industrial city, has many areas that are suspected to be contaminated by lead. Elevated lead levels can affect, among many other issues, mental development, kidney function and blood chemistry. Children are particularly at risk. Objectives. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of lead in soil from selected sites in Tema and how these levels relate to local pediatric blood lead predictions. Methods. A total of 47 surface soil samples were taken from 9 different sites. Energy dispersive X-ray technique was employed to determine the levels of lead. Pediatric blood lead levels were estimated using the Integrated Exposure Uptake Bio-Kinetic Model For Lead in Children, developed by the U.S. EPA. Results. The study revealed that the selected sites are highly contaminated by lead. In particular, the concentration of Pb in soil at a used lead acid battery recycling facility exceeded regulatory limits for industrial soil as set by the U.S. EPA. The model for predicting concentrations of lead in the blood of age-specific children showed extremely high probabilities of BLLs exceeding regulatory limits. Conclusions. Based on the results of soil testing, sites that were expected to reveal lead exposure positively demonstrated high levels of contamination, in some areas exceeding U.S. and other national regulatory limits. This information is expected to help authorities make informed clean-up decisions. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Journal of Health and Pollution, Dec 1, 2017

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2017

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Feb 24, 2016

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Oct 27, 2015

Associations between contaminated land and socio demographics are well documented in high-income ... more Associations between contaminated land and socio demographics are well documented in high-income countries. In low-and middle-income countries, however, little is known about the extent of contaminated land and possible demographic correlations. This is an important yet sparsely researched topic with potentially significant public health implications as exposure to pollution remains a leading source of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries. In this study, we review the associations between several socio demographic factors (population, population density, unemployment, education, and literacy) and contaminated sites in Ghana. Within this context, both correlation and association intend to show the relationship between two variables, namely contaminated sites and socio demographics. Aggregated district level 2010 census data from Ghana Statistical Service and contaminated site location data from Pure Earth's Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) were spatially evaluated using the number of sites per kilometer squared within districts as the unit of measurement. We found a low to medium positive correlation (ρ range: 0.285 to 0.478) between contaminated sites and the

Environmental Pollution, Apr 1, 2016

Using a global database of contaminated sites, toxic hotspots in eight former Soviet countries we... more Using a global database of contaminated sites, toxic hotspots in eight former Soviet countries were analyzed to identify the prevalence, types and sources of toxic pollution, as well as their associated potential public health impacts. For this analysis, polluted sites in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan were compiled and analyzed. The levels of contamination of seven key pollutants were assessed in each country. 424 contaminated sites were identified using data from Blacksmith Institute. Pesticides, lead (Pb), radioactive metals, arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd) were the most commonly identified key pollutants. Collectively, these sites pose health risks to an estimated 6.2 million residents. The existing data on toxic hotspots in former Soviet countries likely captures only a small percentage of actual contaminated sites, but suggests potentially severe public health consequences. Additional assessments are needed to understand the risks posed by toxic pollution in the region.

Annals of global health, Mar 8, 2017

B A C K G R O U N D Prior calculations of the burden of disease from environmental lead exposure ... more B A C K G R O U N D Prior calculations of the burden of disease from environmental lead exposure in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not included estimates of the burden from lead-contaminated sites because of a lack of exposure data, resulting in an underestimation of a serious public health problem. O B J E C T I V E We used publicly available statistics and detailed site assessment data to model the number of informal used lead-acid battery (ULAB) recyclers and the resulting exposures in 90 LMICs. We estimated blood lead levels (BLLs) using the US Environment Protection Agency's Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children and Adult Lead Model. Finally, we used data and algorithms generated by the World Health Organization to calculate the number of attributable disability adjusted life years (DALYs). R E S U L T S We estimated that there are 10,599 to 29,241 informal ULAB processing sites where human health is at risk in the 90 countries we reviewed. We further estimated that 6 to 16.8 million people are exposed at these sites and calculate a geometric mean BLL for exposed children (0-4 years of age) of 31.15 mg/dL and a geometric mean BLL for adults of 21.2 mg/dL. We calculated that these exposures