Unveiling Hidden Lead Pollution: How Computing Power Drives Critical Environmental Research

Lead pollution remains one of the most pressing environmental and public health concerns, especially for children, who are the most vulnerable to its devastating effects. Even at low exposure levels, lead can cause irreversible damage to the brain, nervous system, heart, and kidneys. Children exposed to lead often experience lower IQ, poor academic performance, behavioral issues, and even long-term health risks like heart disease later in life.

Despite being banned from gasoline decades ago, lead contamination persists in our cities.  This is what Ph.D. Alyssa E. Shiel and her team at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University have demonstrated through their research in Portland, Oregon, USA. One alarming source? Aging lead-sheathed telecom cables, which still line neighborhoods across the U.S. Lead from these cables is thought to be mobilized by rainwater, birds, squirrels, and even windstorms, contaminating soil, dust, and even moss. This means lead is not only present in the environment but actively moving through ecosystems, potentially exposing people—especially children—to harmful levels.

How do researchers detect and track hidden lead pollution?

Identifying and assessing the extent of lead pollution is a monumental challenge, requiring vast amounts of data and analysis. Enter artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

Shiel and her team at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University are utilizing advanced AI techniques, specifically an object detection model known as YOLO, to analyze Google Street View images and identify hazardous lead cables. What previously required manual and time-consuming searches is now being automated, allowing researchers to efficiently map entire neighborhoods and even cities. With increased computational resources, this work can be expanded beyond Oregon to other states and eventually to other countries where similar hazards may exist. “Estimates are that  90,000 miles of these cables still exist across the US”, Shiel emphasizes.

What does the data reveal about lead’s environmental impact?

Shiel, a researcher specializing in environmental geochemistry, highlights how lead pollution is far from a static issue—it is actively moving through ecosystems in ways we are only beginning to understand.

“Lead from these cables doesn’t just stay in one place,” says Shiel. “Rain, wind, and even biological activity can transport lead into soil, water, and living organisms. Using AI-driven mapping, we can map the locations of these lead cables and identify areas at greatest risk.”

Her team’s research has analyzed 350 samples of moss collected from across the city of Portland, Oregon revealing elevated lead across the city. Much of this lead is linked to the historic use of leaded gasoline in automobiles and lead-sheathed telecom cables. Moss growing on trees can act as a bioindicator of ongoing lead pollution. "We found lead levels in moss from neighborhoods with these lead cables to be higher than that near industrial sources," Shiel explained.  “People in these neighborhoods don't know the lead cables are there, why would they. It's literally raining lead into their yards, so I think it's really important people know that this presents a risk to their health”, Shiel emphasizes.

 When discussing how people can be exposed to lead contamination, Shiel explains, “There are a few ways this can happen. One way is through inhalation when soil is disturbed, this could be by wind, traffic, or storms. Another source of exposure is ingestion, which often occurs when someone eats or puts to their mouth something contaminated. This is particularly true for children, who tend to put items from the ground into their mouths. For instance, they might touch the soil and then their mouths or eat contaminated food, leading to the ingestion of lead. Additionally, people often assume their homes are safe; however, lead can easily be brought indoors on shoes after being outside. In some situations, individuals may even be gardening near or directly below these lead-sheathed telecom lines, growing fruits and vegetables in raised beds or in-ground gardens contaminated with lead from these cables.”

 How does computing power accelerate environmental solutions?

By training AI to recognize lead-sheathed telecom cables, researchers can build maps pinpointing the highest-risk areas. But their work doesn’t stop there. They are collaborating with health agencies, environmental regulators, and public utility commissions to raise awareness and explore solutions, such as removing these cables, replacing contaminated soil, or mitigating the risk posed by their presence. “We are talking to the Public Utility Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality to see if it's possible to get these cables removed so that they stop leaching additional lead into the soils”, Shiel says.

“We’re living in a world of big data, but without access to computing power, we can’t fully harness it,” Shiel says. “Computing resources are allowing us to unlock critical environmental insights that would otherwise remain hidden.”

Why is donor support crucial for this research?

This research exemplifies how cutting-edge computing resources can drive environmental science forward. The ability to process massive datasets, extract meaningful insights, and create actionable solutions hinges on access to robust computing power. Thanks to contributions from organizations like Computing for Humanity, researchers can now analyze more data, train AI models faster, and generate more precise risk assessments.

“The more data we can process, the more we can refine our understanding of lead pollution and develop targeted interventions,” Shiel says. “Without advanced computing, much of this work would be impossible.”

By supporting Computing for Humanity, donors are directly fueling groundbreaking research that protects public health and the environment. With more powerful computing resources, we can tackle even bigger challenges—ensuring that the invisible threats lurking in our cities don’t go unnoticed and unaddressed.