DISTRIBUTION OF LEAD IN SOILS NEAR THE NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY CAMPUS: JERSEY CITY, NJ

Lead poisoning is a problem in the United States. Infants and children under the age of seven are the most at risk for lead poisoning. Lead can cause problems including brain damage, kidney damage, and other defects. Lead does not break causing it to stay in the soil indefinitely. Ingesting soil during outdoor play is one way that children can become exposed to lead. The objective of this study is to analyze the lead content in soils from low-income areas in Jersey City.

Soil samples were collected in a 2.0 km radius of New Jersey City University campus in Jersey City. The sites included parks, playgrounds, and ballfields. The samples were collected using a 30 cm stainless steel corer. Two samples were collected at each site; one sample for textural analysis and the other for chemical analysis. Nineteen samples with three replicates were collected. The samples for chemical analysis were weighed, and placed in a hood to dry. The samples for textural analysis were weighed, air dried, reweighed, and sieved according to Folk (1975). The size fractions ranged from 4 mm to less than 45 µm.

The graphic mean, mode, and median were calculated along with the inclusive standard graphic deviation (coefficient of sorting). The graphic means ranged from 0.68 to 2.65 phi and the graphic medians ranged from 0.95 to 2.42 phi. The majority of the samples had a mode of 2 phi, meaning that the most frequently-occurring particle diameter was 250 µm. The coefficient of sorting for the samples indicated very poorly sorted or poorly sorted. Of the 19 samples, 11 were tested with a Sensafe^TM Soil Check^TM test kit. This colorimetric test detects the presence or absence of lead in soil. All eleven samples tested positive for lead over 300 ppm, including the samples collected from the NJCU campus. All 19 samples plus additional sample collected summer 2007 will be tested in house by AA graphite furnace spectroscopy as well as sent out to an independent lab.