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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

Primo Type

Article

Included in

Soil Science Commons

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