Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1984
Keywords
Soils--Lead content; Soils--Analysis; Urban soils
Abstract
The focus of this field study was the development of a soil collection and analysis method for the rapid assessment of urban lead (Pb) buildup in four Minnesota cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester. The results show that soil Pb buildup is mainly a function of urban size, although specific geographic factors, such as a bluff that constrains city development along a narrow corridor, also play a role in Pb distribution and concentration. Maximum urban Pb concentrations were approximately 25, 70, and 100 times rural soil Pb levels, in Rochester, Duluth, and the centers of Minneapolis and St. Paul respectively. The primary source of Pb measured in this study was assumed to be Pb aerosols exhausted from the use of leaded gasoline during the past four or five decades. A portion of the total state Pb exhausts were estimated for each city from state daily vehicle mile (DVM) data. The chain of movement which exposes children to excessive Pb levels from aerosol accumulations in the soil is described along with the remedy to alleviate continued urban Pb buildup.
First Page
19
Last Page
24
Recommended Citation
Mielke, H. W.,
Burroughs, S.,
Wade, R.,
Yarrow, T.,
&
Mielke, P. W.
(1984).
Urban Lead in Minnesota: Soil Transect Results of Four Cities.
Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Vol. 50 No.1, 19-24.
Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/jmas/vol50/iss1/5
Primo Type
Article