Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Using Drosophila As an Invertebrate Model System for Toxicity Testing in the Laboratory
Published on: July 10, 2018
Children's Lead Exposure: A Multimedia Modeling Analysis to Guide Public Health Decision-Making
Valerie Zartarian1, Jianping Xue1, Rogelio Tornero-Velez1
1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development , Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
Background:
Drinking water and other sources for lead are the subject of public health concerns around the Flint, Michigan, drinking water and East Chicago, Indiana, lead in soil crises. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) recommended establishment of a "health-based, household action level" for lead in drinking water based on children's exposure.
Objectives:
The primary objective was to develop a coupled exposure-dose modeling approach that can be used to determine what drinking water lead concentrations keep children's blood lead levels (BLLs) below specified values, considering exposures from water, soil, dust, food, and air. Related objectives were to evaluate the coupled model estimates using real-world blood lead data, to quantify relative contributions by the various media, and to identify key model inputs.
Methods:
A modeling approach using the EPA's Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation (SHEDS)-Multimedia and Integrated Exposure Uptake and Biokinetic (IEUBK) models was developed using available data. This analysis for the U.S. population of young children probabilistically simulated multimedia exposures and estimated relative contributions of media to BLLs across all population percentiles for several age groups.
Results:
Modeled BLLs compared well with nationally representative BLLs (0-23% relative error). Analyses revealed relative importance of soil and dust ingestion exposure pathways and associated Pb intake rates; water ingestion was also a main pathway, especially for infants.
Conclusions:
This methodology advances scientific understanding of the relationship between lead concentrations in drinking water and BLLs in children. It can guide national health-based benchmarks for lead and related community public health decisions. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1605.
Related Concept Videos
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Pharmacodynamic Models: Linear Concentration–Effect Model
Impact of Pharmacokinetic–Pharmacodynamic Models: Regulatory Decisions
Toxicity Testing in Animals
Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
Methods of Medium Optimization

