Soil Sampling In Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward Reveals Toxic Levels Of Lead In Yards, Play Areas
A study that involved neighborhood partners could aid creation of future environmental protection programs.
By Ann Kellett, Texas A&M University School of Public Health
NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Houston, like many American cities, has areas with soil contaminated by non-biodegradable and persistent pollutants such as arsenic, lead, nickel and cadmium, known as heavy metals and metalloids. These are both naturally occurring in the atmosphere and a byproduct of industrial metal processing, leaching or runoff and are commonly found in traffic emissions and paint.

While some heavy metals and metalloids — notably zinc and copper — are vital to human health in minute quantities, prolonged exposure is known to cause cognitive decline, organ damage, various cancers and other health problems. Children, especially those in urban areas, are thought to be particularly at risk.

Now, a study led by researchers from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, with participation by local residents, has found significantly elevated levels of heavy metal contaminants in an area of the Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood two miles northeast of Downtown Houston.

“Heavy metals and metalloids have been extensively studied and regulated over the past 50 years, but evidence is growing that contact is more prevalent than previously thought, especially in so-called cancer clusters like the Greater Fifth Ward, where most residents are socioeconomically disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities,” said Dr. Garett Sansom with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health and a corresponding author of the study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

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