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Neonates and infants in outdoor play areas: Public health consequences of cultural attitudes about lead (Pb) dust in New Orleans, USA and Oslo, Norway

Howard W Mielke

New Orleans, USA and Oslo, Norway are similarly sized cities that provide outdoor play areas for children. This comparison evaluates lead (Pb) content of soils at children’s play areas in parks and childcare areas near city centers. The median soil Pb in New Orleans and Oslo play areas are 418 mg/kg vs. 25 mg/kg, respectively. Why are the play area soils in New Orleans 17 times higher than play area soils in Oslo? The cultural attitudes toward two commercial products, lead-based paints and Pb additives in gasoline, suggest reasons for the unusual differences in soil Pb at children’s play areas of these two cities. In the US, lead-based paint containing 1%-50% Pb was widely used until regulated downward in 1978; in Norway lead-based paint was banned during the 1920’s. In the US, instead of publictransportation, automobile use was enthusiastically encouraged, along with subsidized leaded gasoline; in Norway inexpensive publictransportation was subsidized, and automobile use along with fuel, was taxed, and discouraged. The outcome of the cultural differencesin attitudes about household and transportation uses of Pb resulted in environmental and exposure disparities. The consequencesto life expectancy, learning, behavior, and immune system problems are known when children are unduly exposed to Pb. Childrenliving in the two cities demonstrate differences that align with what is known about Pb exposure. From the nursing, whole-of-societyperspective, the fundamental lesson is: if Pb exposure is prevented in the first place, then outcomes are life-long health benefits forindividuals and society