Browsing by Author "Isley, Cynthia F."

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    A citizen science approach to identifying trace metal contamination risks in urban gardens
    (Elsevier, 2021-10) Taylor, Mark Patrick; Isley, Cynthia F.; Fry, Kara L.; Liu, Xiaochi; Gillings, Max M.; Rouillon, Marek; Soltani, Neda S.; Gore, Damian B.; Filippelli, Gabriel M.; Earth Sciences, School of Science
    We launched the VegeSafe program in 2013 to assist Australians concerned about exposure to contaminants in their soils and gardens. VegeSafe analyses garden soils provided by citizens for trace metals at our laboratory at little to no cost, with easy-to-follow guidance on any intervention required. The response was overwhelming—Australians submitted 17,256 soils from 3,609 homes, and in turn VegeSafe researchers now have unparalleled household-scale data, providing new insights into urban trace metal contamination. The results are sobering, with 35% of homes, particularly those that are older, painted and located in inner cities having soils above the Australian residential guideline (300 mg/kg) for the neurotoxic trace metal lead (Pb). Exposure pathway, blood Pb concentration and vegetable uptake modelling showed the communities in these locations were most at risk. VegeSafe is transformative: 94% of participants better understood contaminants, 83% felt safer in their home environment and 40% undertook remedial action based on their results. The two-way nature of this program enables education of citizens about environmental contaminants, advances public health, and delivers impactful science.
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    Screening for Lead: Predictive Modeling of Indoor Dust Lead Concentrations and Possible Effects of Intervention
    (Elsevier, 2022) Dietrich, Matthew; Isley, Cynthia F.; Entwistle, Jane A.; Meza-Figueroa, Diana; Dong, Chenyin; Gunkel-Grillon, Peggy; Jabeen, Khadija; Bramwell, Lindsay; Shukle, John T.; Wood, Leah R.; Naidu, Ravi; Fry, Kara; Taylor, Mark Patrick; Filippelli, Gabriel M.; Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Science
    Lead (Pb) pollution continues to contribute to world-wide morbidity in all countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries. Despite its continued widespread adverse effects on global populations, particularly children, accurate prediction of elevated household dust Pb and the potential implications of simple household interventions at national and global scales have been lacking. A global dataset (~40 countries, n = 1951) of community sourced household dust samples were used to predict whether indoor dust was elevated in Pb, expanding on recent work in the United States (U.S.). Binned housing age category alone was a significant (p<0.01) predictor of elevated dust Pb, but only generated effective predictive accuracy for the U.K. and Australia (sensitivity of ~80%), similar to previous results in the U.S. This likely reflects comparable Pb pollution legacies between these three countries, particularly with residential Pb paint. We also find that the heterogeneity associated with Pb pollution at a global scale can complicate the predictive accuracy of our model, which is lower for countries outside the U.K., U.S., and Australia. This is likely due to differing environmental Pb regulations, sources, and the paucity of dust samples available outside of these three countries. In the U.K., U.S., and Australia, straightforward household intervention could conservatively save $70 billion USD within a four-year period, and as much as $1.68 trillion USD globally with universal household remediation based on our predictive results.