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My home is located in a quiet, wooded town in Suffolk County, Long Island. My parents chose the location, nestled in the woods, to enjoy the land's rustic beauty, as well as for convenient commuting. While growing up, my friends and I spent countless hours outside exploring the woods, digging in the dirt, and playing sports in the backyard. In early autumn, the area is particularly lovely as the leaves turn colors and fall from the trees. However, during this time of the year, as the leaves thin and the natural sound barrier is gone, I begin to hear the din of the LIE in the distance, heightening my awareness that we live close to a major expressway. Unfortunately, being near to the expressway, I also experience the constant strong scent of burning gasoline.
 Max and his sister Apparently, the risk of lead toxicity is greatest in young children my sister's age, who are crawling on the floor and placing objects into their mouths. In children, lead poisoning occurs most often from exposure to old lead-based paint. Residential use of lead-based paint has been banned in the state of New York since 1978, but older homes may contain lead in chipping or peeling paint even after the house has been repainted. This is problematic because when a window is opened or closed, the friction may result in lead dust settling on and near the window. In fact, my sister loves to peer out the upstairs bedroom window as she waits for my brothers and me to get home from school. Sometimes she mindlessly places her mouth on the sill as she waits. Thankfully, I don't need to worry about my sister swallowing lead particles because lead use was being phased out at the time that our home was built (Primi, 1999). Still, my thoughts turn to the lead in gasoline. Pollutants like lead have been emitted into the air, settled on the ground, and accumulated over the years. There are homes in my neighborhood whose backyards are adjacent to the service road of the Long Island Expressway. I begin to consider the environment of my own home, 0.3 miles from the LIE. I wonder if our soil is contaminated with lead. |
A "Leaded" History
Lead is a naturally occurring element, a heavy, soft, blue-gray metal. One of the earliest metals discovered by ancient civilizations, lead was first found in a Turkish statue that dates back to 6500 BCE (HMA, 2006). The first use of lead was for plumbing in ancient Rome (plumbum is Latin for lead). Sections of drainage pipe with the insignia of Roman emperors are still in use and in perfect condition. Furthermore, in ancient Rome, lead was a component of face powders, rouge, mascara, paint pigment, dishes, pots, and kettles. Lead was sprinkled on foods as a condiment and used as a preservative for wine (Lewis, 1985). The Romans were aware that lead could cause severe health problems, including madness and death. They believed, however, that that these adverse effects occurred only with the high levels of exposure of miners or smelters. These workers were typically slaves, whose health was not of concern. Lead mining was prohibited in Rome, and eventually all mining and smelting was relegated to the provinces. Historians, however, hypothesize that lead toxicity affected the nobility as well. Epidemics of gout, sterility, and the mental incompetence of the Roman elite are thought to have been a result of chronic exposure to low levels of lead from ingesting contaminated food and wine (Lewis, 1985).  The Long Island Expressway |
        
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