Rabito et al. (64.2%), and most participants were home­ owners (68.8%). Four participant house­ holds (3.7%) reported receiving some form of government assistance. Nine homes (8.3%) were located near a busy street or intersection. Using standard HUD/U.S. EPA cut points of > 40 µg/ft2 for floor dust and > 250 µg/ft2 for windowsill dust (U.S. EPA 2008a), 50.5% of homes had at least one interior sample that was elevated (Table 2). Nearly half (46.7%) of the 90 homes with bare soil had levels > 400 ppm, and 26.7% had levels > 1,200 ppm. Considering both interior and exterior samples, 61.4% of homes had at least one measurement in excess of the HUD/U.S. EPA standard. In unadjusted models, age of housing was the only factor significantly associated (p < 0.05) with elevated soil lead (OR = 82.0; 95% CI: 10.3, 651.5), whereas both age of housing (OR = 12.8; 95% CI: 4.7, 35.1) and elevated soil lead (OR = 21.2; 95% CI: 7.2, 62.7) were significantly associated with increased interior lead. In adjusted models, Table 1. Demographic and household characteris­ tics of the study population (n = 109). Characteristic Race/ethnicity African American Caucasian Other < 30,000 ≥ 30,000 Annual household income ($/year)a House built before 1946 ≥ 1 child < 18 years of age in the home Home ownership status Own 75 (68.8) Rent 34 (31.2) Household receives government assistance 4 (3.7) House located near busy street 9 (8.3) Type of house Single-family home 79 (72.5) Multifamily home 30 (19.2) aImputed based on median census block income for 29 homes with missing income data. Table 2. Results of interior dust lead and soil lead sampling (n = 109). n (%) 41 (37.6) 67 (61.5) 1 (0.92) 36 (33.0) 73 (67.0) 70 (64.2) 53 (48.6) HUD/U.S. EPA standard > 40 µg/ft2 > 250 µg/ft2 > 400 ppm > 1,200 ppm Homes with elevated levels [n (%)] 13 (11.9) 9 (12.7) 15 (14.4) 24 (23.8) 30 (20.9) 28 (25.9) 42 (46.7) 24 (26.7) 55 (50.5) 67 (61.4) Sampling areaa Floor sample Kitchen (n = 109) Bedroom (n = 71) Living room (n = 104) Windowsill sample Kitchen (n = 101) Bedroom (n = 102) Living room (n = 108) Soil sample (n = 90) Elevated interior sample Any elevated sample 182 aFloor samples were not collected from rooms without bare floors; windowsill samples were not collected from rooms without windows; and soil samples were collected from homes with bare soil near the home only. after controlling for housing age, soil lead remained significantly associated with interior lead levels above the HUD/U.S. EPA health­ based standards (Table 3). Soil data were geocoded to the 55 census tracts for which soil data were available for both pre­ and post­Hurricane Katrina time periods. We compared the soil lead levels and assessed the difference in samples between the 2000 and the 2007–2008 surveys. In the 2000 survey, soil lead ranged from 25 to 1,789 ppm; in the 2007–2008 survey the range was 10–24,000 ppm. The median soil lead level from the 2000 survey was 408.1 ppm (interquartile range = 442.0 ppm), and the median lead level in the 2007–2008 survey was 560.0 ppm (interquartile range = 1,324 ppm), a 37% increase relative to the prestorm median. Overall, median levels for individual census tracts were significantly higher in the samples collected after Hurricane Katrina than in sam­ ples collected in 2000 (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p = 0.002). Discussion The traditional lead distribution in New Orleans pre­Katrina was like that of many other older cities, with a higher concentration in and around deteriorating older housing. Besides age of housing, sociodemographic variables, including African­American race, low income, poverty, and renter status, have consistently been shown to be associated with elevated lead in urban cities (Gaitens et al. 2009; Jacobs et al. 2002; Lanphear et al. 2005). Hurricane Katrina disproportionately affected low­ income, minority residents. The diaspora lacked the means to quickly return to the city, and our study sample reflects this repopulation pattern. Study households included a large proportion of nonminority homeowners living in areas of the city with low poverty. This demographic group would normally be considered to have a low risk for lead exposure; therefore, the widespread lead contamination in and around study homes—particularly the degree of soil contamination—was unexpected. More than 60% of households had an elevated lead sample either inside or outside of the home. Nearly half the homes with bare soil had elevated soil lead, and 27% of those homes had soil lead > 1,200 ppm, three times the HUD/U.S. EPA standard. Neither soil nor interior dust lead levels were sig­ nificantly associated with sociodemographic variables commonly found to be related to elevated lead, although low income was non­ significantly associated with interior lead in adjusted models. We hypothesize that lead contamination may be the result of the unprecedented amount of home renovation and demolition that was required as a result of Hurricane Katrina damage both in high­ and low­ income neighborhoods. In New Orleans, approximately 135,000 structures sustained hurricane damage, with major or severe damage to 105,000 of these homes. As of May 2009, an estimated 9,000 homes had been demolished and thousands more repaired or renovated (Brookings Institute 2009; HUD 2006). Both the renovation and demolition of these structures, many of which were built before 1950, pose a potential new lead exposure source and a potential health hazard for children (Chou et al. 2010; U.S. EPA 2006). Numerous studies have shown that when leads­afe practices are not employed during renovation, lead is dispersed into the environment and residential soil becomes contaminated (Clark et al. 2004; Dixon et al. 2007; Lanphear and Roghmann 1997; Reissman et al. 2002). Demolition activity is also a source of environmental lead and has been associated with an increase in children’s blood lead levels (Farfel et al. 2003, 2005; Rabito et al. 2007). We found that the median soil lead level for the sampled homes was 37% higher than the median soil lead level for samples col­ lected for a 1998–2000 lead survey. Our find­ ing that soil lead levels in samples collected from the same census tracts in 2007–2008 were higher than prestorm levels contradict those from two soil lead distribution studies Table 3. ORs (95% CIs) for associations between sociodemographic variables and elevated interior dust lead (> 40 µg/ft2 or > 250 µg/ft2, depending on the location) and elevated soil lead (> 400 ppm). Lead level/sociodemiographic variable Elevated interior lead (n = 109) Income < $30,000 African-American racea Elevated soil lead Rent home House located near busy street House built pre-1946 Elevated soil lead (n = 90) Income < $30,000 African-American racea Rent home House located near busy street House built pre-1946 aReference group is white race. Unadjusted 2.3 (1.0, 5.2) 0.7 (0.3, 1.5) 21.2 (7.2, 62.7) 2.0 (0.8, 4.5) 0.7 (0.2, 3.0) 12.8 (4.7, 35.1) 1.2 (0.5, 3.0) 0.7 (0.3, 5.7) 2.3 (0.9, 5.7) 0.4 (0.1, 2.3) 82.0 (10.3, 651.5) Adjusted 2.8 (0.5, 15.9) 0.8 (0.2, 3.9) 12.7 (2.9, 55.7) 0.5 (0.1, 2.3) 2.6 (0.3, 23.4) 4.5 (0.8, 26.0) 0.7 (0.2, 2.1) 0.7 (0.2, 2.2) 2.7 (0.9, 7.9) 3.2 (0.5, 21.3) 8.9 (3.1, 26.0) ovlume 120 | number 2 | February 2012 • Environmental Health Perspectives