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Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in residential soil—Houston, Texas

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 35, pages 725–729 (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Human health risk assessment increasingly recognizes the need to integrate participatory-based research, geospatial analysis, and environmental epidemiology, particularly to address contamination concerns in underserved and disadvantaged communities. Here, we demonstrate the combined application of such methods within the Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood in Northeast Houston. In particular, in tandem with community members, we collected soil samples from 193 residential sites using a complete canvassing method from July to November 2021 to characterize contaminant concentrations, focusing on heavy metals and metalloids As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Pb, Se, Ag, and Hg measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Individual heavy metals as well as cumulative cancer and non-cancer risks were calculated for children and adults using the USEPA Regional Soil Screening Levels and benchmarks for specific land uses, such as crop growing. Soils from most sites had low or typical background levels expected in urban areas, but samples from several locations had significantly elevated lead levels (>1200 mg/kg) that warrant additional examination. Geospatial analysis suggested clustering of heavy metal contaminants within one geographic area of the neighborhood. This study highlights how participatory research in underserved environmental justice communities can help characterize current conditions as well as establish priorities for future investigation.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2: Summary of heavy metals and metalloids (HMMs) evaluated in this study (n = 193).
Fig. 3: Interpolated spatial distributions of non-cancer and cancer risks in the study area.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their support: Coalition of Community Organizations (COCO), IMPACT, the Greater Fifth Ward Block Captains, Texas Southern University—The Bullard Center, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Greater Fifth Ward community who allowed us to sample their properties and engaged in discussions about potential environmental exposures, and thank you to all of the Texas A&M University students who assisted in research related to this study.

Funding

Funding for this study came from the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences P12ES027704-01-Center), the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellow, and a School of Public Health Dissertation Scholarship bestowed by Drs. Tiffany Radcliff, Garett T. Sansom, and Taehyun Roh without whom this research would not have been possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Leanne S. Fawkes, Thomas J. McDonald & Garett T. Sansom

  2. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Texas School of Public Health San Antonio, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Leanne S. Fawkes

  3. Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Weihsueh A. Chiu

  4. Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Taehyun Roh

Authors
  1. Leanne S. Fawkes
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  2. Weihsueh A. Chiu
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  4. Thomas J. McDonald
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  5. Garett T. Sansom
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Contributions

Leanne S. Fawkes: Investigation, conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, visualization, writing-original draft. Weihsueh A. Chiu: Conceptualization, formal analysis, writing-review & editing. Thomas J. McDonald: Writing-review & editing. Taehyun Roh: Writing-review & editing. Garett T. Sansom: Conceptualization, methodology, writing-review & editing.

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Correspondence to Leanne S. Fawkes.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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This project and all related materials were approved by the Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board (IRB2021-0357D). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

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Fawkes, L.S., Chiu, W.A., Roh, T. et al. Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in residential soil—Houston, Texas. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 35, 725–729 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-024-00713-7

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