The State of Public Health Lead Policies: Implications for Urban Health Inequities and Recommendations for Health Equity

Alana M. W. LeBrón, Ivy R. Torres, Enrique Valencia, Miriam López Dominguez, Deyaneira Guadalupe Garcia-Sanchez, Michael D. Logue and Jun Wu
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Alana M. W. LeBrón: Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention, Program in Public Health, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Ivy R. Torres: Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention, Program in Public Health, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Enrique Valencia: Orange County Environmental Justice, Santa Ana, CA 92705, USA
Miriam López Dominguez: Jovenes Cultivando Cambios, Santa Ana, CA 92705, USA
Deyaneira Guadalupe Garcia-Sanchez: Jovenes Cultivando Cambios, Santa Ana, CA 92705, USA
Michael D. Logue: Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention, Program in Public Health, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Jun Wu: Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention, Program in Public Health, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-28

Abstract: Although lead has been removed from paint and gasoline sold in the U.S., lead exposures persist, with communities of color and residents in urban and low-income areas at greatest risk for exposure. The persistence of and inequities in lead exposures raise questions about the scope and implementation of policies that address lead as a public health concern. To understand the multi-level nature of lead policies, this paper and case study reviews lead policies at the national level, for the state of California, and for Santa Ana, CA, a dense urban city in Southern California. Through a community-academic partnership process, this analysis examines lead exposure pathways represented, the level of intervention (e.g., prevention, remediation), and whether policies address health inequities. Results indicate that most national and state policies focus on establishing hazardous lead exposure levels in settings and consumer products, disclosing lead hazards, and remediating lead paint. Several policies focus on mitigating exposures rather than primary prevention. The persistence of lead exposures indicates the need to identify sustainable solutions to prevent lead exposures in the first place. We close with recommendations to reduce lead exposures across the life course, consider multiple lead exposure pathways, and reduce and eliminate health inequities related to lead.

Keywords: lead; lead prevention policies; lead paint; soil lead; lead in water; health disparities; health inequities; environmental justice; environmental racism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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