Award Date

5-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Environmental and Occupational Health

First Committee Member

Shawn Gerstenberger, Chair

Second Committee Member

Sheniz Moonie

Third Committee Member

Linda Stetzenbach

Graduate Faculty Representative

Timothy Farnham

Number of Pages

97

Abstract

The harmful health effects of lead exposure have been known for centuries, yet lead is still produced and utilized in a variety of ways. There have been many movements to rid the environment of this toxic metal in hope to reduce the number of individuals who are and who may potentially be exposed. Lead exposure is responsible for a myriad of negative health effects most notably lowering IQ scores in children. Extensive amounts of data have been collected from areas of the country with known lead hazards, hazards that have been identified through hundreds of thousands of elevated blood lead levels and through research studies. This study begins to answer the questions of the presence of traditional and some non-traditional lead hazards in the housing and commercial building stock of Clark County, Nevada, USA. This study is the first of its kind, in that, lead risk assessments were performed for the total population of pre-1978 permitted childcare facilities in Clark County, Nevada (N=94). These risk assessments included X-ray fluorescence analyses of paint, tile, and large pieces of playground equipment, while laboratory analyses were performed on dust, soil, and water samples. The analyses suggest that the pre-1978 structures in Clark County Nevada, USA do not follow national trends pertaining to the prevalence of lead-based paint, and lead in dust and soil. Only a small portion of the childcare center screened had traditional lead hazards, while a slightly higher portion of centers had non-traditional sources such as tile, and playground equipment. The data collected in this study contributes to the growing body of data of the lead hazards present in the Clark County, Nevada housing stock. This information could help by directing primary prevention efforts to the non-traditional sources of lead exposure that are pertinent to Clark County, Nevada.

Keywords

Childcare facilities; Clark County Nevada USA; Day care centers; Lead; Lead abatement; Lead-based paint; Lead poisoning in children; Lead risk assessment; Nevada – Clark county; Pre-1978; Soils – Lead content

Disciplines

Environmental Public Health | Public Health

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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