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Pure Earth’s Research Initiatives

Through our research initiatives, Pure Earth raises awareness and furthers scientific knowledge about the issues of lead and mercury pollution. Since our inception in 1999, Pure Earth’s research has focused on our  geo-referenced database of over 3,000 sites in about 50 countries, and on quantifying the health impacts and economic burden of toxic pollution in low- and middle-income countries.

Pure Earth partners with academic institutions for collaboration to further our research aims. These ongoing efforts strengthen Pure Earth’s technical capacities, making us more effective and providing added expertise and greater reach than we could achieve alone.

WATCH: Dr. Howard Hu, Pure Earth board member, explain the latest science on lead exposures in his 2022 presentation Assessing and Addressing Lead Exposure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries”.

Click here for an up to date list of research and resources on lead poisoning and pollution.

 

Major Publications & Reports

2024

Evidence of turmeric adulteration with lead chromate across South Asia, Forsyth et al. Science of the Total Environment. November 2024. 

Determinant Factors of Children’s Blood Lead Levels in Java, Indonesia, Mansyur et al. The International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. August 2024. 

A Snapshot of Lead in Consumer Products Across Four US Jurisdictions, Porterfield et al. Environmental Health Perspectives. July 2024.

Assessment of prevalence of elevated blood lead levels and risk factors among children and pregnant women in Bihar, India. Lu et al. Environmental Research. July 2024. 

Structured expert judgement approach of the health impact of various chemicals and classes of chemicals. Marti et al. PLOS ONE. June 2024.

Lead Exposure at Homes as Modifying Factors of Blood Lead Levels Among Young Children in Bihar, India. Nash et al. SSRN. June 2024.

Rapid Market Screening to assess lead concentrations in consumer products across 25 low- and middle-income countries. Sargsyan et al. Scientific Reports. April 2024.

Homemade copper-silver plates as an alternative for cleaning mercury-contaminated tailings from artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Colombia. Rodriguez et al. March 2024.

2023

The burden of diseases and risk factors in Bangladesh, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. GBD 2019 Bangladesh Burden of Disease Collaborators. Lancet Global Health. December 2023. 

Rapid Assessment of Mercury Contaminated Sites. Ortega-Ramierz et al. Revista Facultad de Ingeniería Universidad de Antioquia. October-December 2023.

Rapid Market Screening Program. Pure Earth. September 2023.

Invited Perspective: An Argument for Changing the Reporting Units for Lead in Blood. Caravanos et al. Environmental Health Perspectives. September 2023.

A Horizon Scan to Support Chemical Pollution-Related Policymaking for Sustainable and Climate Resilient Economies. Kupka et al. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. June 2023.

Bovine Lead Exposure from Informal Battery Recycling in India. Ferraro et al. Springer Nature. May 2023.

Diminishing Benefits of Urban Living for Children and Adolescents’ Growth and Development. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Nature. March 2023.

Child lead exposure near abandoned lead acid battery recycling sites in a residential community in Bangladesh: Risk factors and the impact of soil remediation on blood lead levels. Chowdhury et al. Environmental Research. March 2023. 

Espacio público, construcción de comunidad y participación social. Alfarería en San Jerónimo Ocotitlán: la relación entre la salud y la identidad. Diseño Industrial UNAM. 2023.

Intoxicación infantil por plomo en México: otras fuentes de exposición más allá del barro vidriado (ENSANUT 2022). Salud Pública de México. 2023.

2022

India’s Lead Crisis: A Call to Action. Pure Earth. 2022.

Contribución de la exposición ambiental, para-ocupacional y el uso de barro vidriado a la concentración de plomo en sangre en población infantil mexicana (ENSANUT 2022). Trejo-Valdivia et al. Salud Pública de México. November-December 2022. 

Prevalence of elevated blood lead levels and risk factors among children living in Patna, Bihar, India 2020. PLOS Global Public Health. October 2022.

Reducing Disease and Death from Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM)- the Urgent Need for Responsible Mining in the Context of Growing Global Demand for Minerals and Metals for Climate Change Mitigation. Landrigan et al. Environmental Health. August 2022.

Pollution and Health: A Progress Update. Fuller et al. The Lancet Planetary Health. June 2022.

A Science Policy Panel to Catalyze A Global Response to Chemical, Waste and Pollution. Kupka et al. Science Diplomacy Review. April 2022.

Lead Levels in a Potters Population and Its Association With the Use of Different Glazes: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Approved Pottery Program. Peralta et al. Frontiers in Toxicology. March 2022. 

Research Brief on Hg Retention in AMATAF. Román et al. Pure Earth. 2022.

2021

All lead exposures matter – Authors’ reply. Ericson et al. Lancet Planetary Health. December 2021.

Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Lancet. September 2021. 

Reducing the Threat of Toxic Pollution to Women and Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Pure Earth. 2021.

Pollution: A Critical Link for Achieving the SDGs. Pure Earth. 2021.

Pollution in the Kitchen. Pure Earth. 2021.

Piloting Risk Mitigation at a Lead Contaminated Site in Bangladesh. Aziz et al. Geological Society of America. October 2021.

Blood Lead Levels in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review. Ericson et al. The Lancet Planetary Health. March 2021.

Child Lead Exposure Near Abandoned Lead Acid Battery Recycling Sites in a Residential Community in Bangladesh: Risk Factors and the Impact of Soil Remediation on Blood Lead Levels. Chowdhury et al. Environmental Research. March 2021.

Child Lead Exposure Near Abandoned Lead Acid Battery Recycling Sites in a Residential Community in Bangladesh: Risk Factors and the Impact of Soil Remediation on Blood Lead Levels. Chowdhury et al. Environmental Research. January 2021

Health and Economic Impact of Air Pollution in the States of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative Air Pollution Collaborators. Lancet Planetary Health. January 2021.

2020

Consequences of a Mobile Future: Creating an Environmentally Conscious Life Cycle for Lead-Acid Batteries. World Economic Forum, December 2020.

Análisis de la distribución nacional de intoxicación por plomo en niños de 1 a 4 años. Implicaciones para la política pública en México. Tellez-Rojo et al. Salud Pública de México. November-December 2020.

Use of bacteria community analysis to distinguish groundwater recharge sources to shallow wells. Higgins et al. Journal of Environmental Quality. November 2020. 

Elevated Levels of Lead (Pb) Identified in Georgian Spices. Ericson et al. Annals of Global Health. September 2020.

The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future Potential. UNICEF and Pure Earth. 2020.

Probabilistic Estimates of Prenatal Lead Exposure at 195 Toxic Hotspots in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Zajac et al. Environmental Research. April 2020.

Blood Lead Levels in Children Living Near an Informal Lead Battery Recycling Workshop in Patna, Bihar. Ansari et al. Journal of Health and Pollution. February 2020. 

Lessons Learned Through the Journey of a Medical Toxicologist While Characterizing Lead Hazards in the Republic of Georgia. Kazzi et al. Journal of Medical Toxicology. January 2020. 

2019

Poster: Education and Remediation Efforts to Reduce Mercury Use and Contamination in the ASGM sector of Puno and Madre de Dios. Espinosa et al. ICMGP Conference. 2019.

Reporte Nacional de Niveles de Plomo en Sangre y Uso de Barro Vidriado en Población Infantil Vulnerable (National Report of Lead Levels in Blood and Use of Lead-Glazed Pottery in Vulnerable Children). Téllez-Rojo et al. Salud Publica (Public Health Mexico). December 2019.

Toxic Site Identification Program in Azerbaijan. Abbasov et al. Environmental Management. December 2019.

Rethinking Aid Allocation: Analysis of Official Development Spending on Modern Pollution Reduction. Swinehart et al. Annals of Global Health. November 2019.

Improving and Expanding Estimates of the Global Burden of Disease Due to Environmental Health Risk Factors. Shaffer et al. Environmental Health Perspectives. October 2019.

Poster: Education and Remediation Efforts to Reduce Mercury Use and Contamination in the ASGM sector of Puno and Madre de Dios. Espinosa et al. ICMGP Conference. 2019.

Remediation of Soil Contaminated with Persistent Organic Pollutants in Sumgait, Azerbaijan. Sharov et al. Environmental Monitoring Assessment. June 2019.

Assessment of the Prevalence of Lead-Based Paint Exposure Risk in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ericson et al. Science of The Total Environment. February 2019.

Pollution Knows No Borders.Pure Earth. Jan 2019.

2018

Pollution and Global Health: a Time for Action. Fuller et al. World Hospitals and Health Services.2018. 

Pollution Prevention and Climate Change Mitigation: Measuring the Health benefits of Comprehensive Interventions. Landrigan et al. Lancet Planetary Health. December 2018.

A Meta-Analysis of Blood Lead Levels in India and the Attributable Burden of Disease. Ericson et al. Environmental International.December 2018.

Lead intoxicated children in Kabwe, Zambia.Environmental Research. Bose-O’Reilly S, Yabe J, Makumba J, Schutzmeier P, Ericson B, Caravanos J. Aug 2018; 165.

Pollution and Non-Communicable Disease: Time to End the Neglect. Fuller et al. The Lancet Planetary Health. March 2018.

Cost Effectiveness of Environmental Lead Risk Mitigation in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries. Ericson et al. GeoHealth. Feb 2018.

Improving Human Health Outcomes with a Low-Cost Intervention to Reduce Exposures from Lead Acid Battery Recycling: Dong Mai, Vietnam. Ericson et al. Environmental Research. February 2018.

2017

Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.The Lancet.October 2017.

Global Burden of Disease of Mercury Used in Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining. Steckling et al. Annals of Global Health.March 2017.

Pérdida de Coeficiente Intelectual en Hijos de Alfareros Mexicanos(Intelligence Quotient Loss in Mexican Pottery Artisan’s Children). Estrada-Sánchez et al. Revistamedica.May 2017

Disability Weights for Chronic Mercury Intoxication Resulting from Gold Mining Activities: Results from an Online Pairwise Comparisons Survey. Steckling et al. Environmental Research and Public Health.January 2017.

2016

Estimating the Prevalence of Toxic Waste Sites in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Dowling et al. Annals of Global Health. September 2016.

The Global Burden of Lead Toxicity Attributable to Informal Used Lead-Acid Battery Sites. Ericson et al. Annals of Global Health. September 2016.

Risk Factors for Children’s Blood Lead Levels in Metal Mining and Smelting Communities in Armenia: a Cross-Sectional Study. Grigoryan et al. BMC Public Health.September 2016.

Burden of Disease Resulting from Lead Exposure at Toxic Waste Sites In Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay. Caravanos et al. Environmental Health. June 2016.

Protecting Communities by Remediating Polluted Sites Worldwide. Hanrahan et al. Institution of Civil Engineers.  May 2016.

The Prevalence of Toxic Hotspots in Former Soviet Countries. Sharov et al. Environmental Pollution. April 2016.

Pollution, Health and Development: The Need for a New Paradigm. Landrigan & Fuller. Reviews in Environmental Health. March 2016.

2015

An Assessment of the Potential Presence of Carcinogenic Materials at Non-Military Industrial Sites in Vieques, Puerto Rico.Jack Caravanos. City University of New York. October 2015.

Spatial Associations Between Contaminated Land And Socio Demographics In Ghana. Dowling et al. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. October 2015.

Global Health and Environmental Pollution. Landrigan & Fuller. International Journal of Public Health. July 2015.

Exposición a plomo: una tarea pendiente en México. Téllez-Rojo & Caravanos. Salud Pública de México. March-April 2015.

2014

Environmental Pollution: An Enormous and Invisible Burden on Health Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Landrigan & Fuller. World Hospitals and Health Services. 2014.

Notes from the Field: Severe Environmental Contamination and Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children—Zambia, 2014. Caravanos et al. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. November 2014.

A Comparison of Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites with Other Recognized Public Health Threats in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Caravanos et al. Journal of Health Pollution. October 2014.

A Simplified Risk-Ranking System for Prioritizing Toxic Pollution Sites in Low-and Middle-Income Countries. Caravanos et al. Annals Of Global  Health. July-August 2014.

Blood Lead Levels in Mexico and Pediatric Burden of Disease Implications. Caravanos et al. Annals Of Global Health. July-August 2014.

Environmental Pollution and Occupational Health in a Changing World. Landrigan & Fuller. Annals Of Global Health. July-August 2014.

The Pediatric Burden of Disease from Lead Exposure at Toxic Waste Sites in Low and Middle Income Countries. Chatham-Stephens et al. Environmental Research. July 2014.

2013

“Hazardous Waste and Toxic Hotspots.” Fuller. Textbook of Children’s Environmental Health. December 2013.

Rapid Assessment of Environmental Health Risks Posed by Mining Operations in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Selected Case Studies. Caravanos et al. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. November 2013.

Assessing Levels of Lead Contamination in Soil and Predicting Pediatric Blood Lead Levels in Tema, Ghana. Aboh et al. Journal of  Health and Pollution. June 2013.

BORAX – Summary of Health Risks Associated with Using Borax in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining. Riederer & Caravanos. Pure Earth. April 2013.

Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2010. Chatham-Stephens et al. Environmental Health Perspectives. May 2013.

Approaches to Systematic Assessment of Environmental Exposures Posed at Hazardous Waste Sites in the Developing World: the Toxic Sites Identification Program. Ericson et al. Environ Monit Assess. February 2013.

2012

Rapid Assessment of Environmental Health Risks Posed by Mining Operations in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Selected Case Studies. Caravanos et al. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. December 2012.

The Burden of Disease from Pediatric Lead Exposure at Hazardous Waste Sites in 7 Asian Countries. Caravanos et al. Environmental Research.  September 2012.

2011

Assessing Worker and Environmental Chemical Exposure Risks at an e-Waste Recycling and Disposal Site in Accra, Ghana. Caravanos et al. Journal of Health and Pollution. February 2011. 

Reports

Annual Report Series on the World’s Worst Polluted Places, released by Blacksmith Institute/Pure Earth and Green Cross Switzerland.  Access all reports here:

Pure Earth/ Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) Publications

Report: Turning The Corner on Toxic PollutionGAHP. 2014.

Fact Sheet: Pollution: The Silent Killer of Millions in Poor Countries. GAHP.

Additional Resources

Artisanal Gold Mining:  A Dangerous Pollution Problem. Pure Earth.

Guixi Rice Paddy Remediation Pilot Study, Jianxi Province, China, Fall 2012

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