Information on Fall 2008 Soil Sampling by Rob Rossi

The samples were all collected from around an old school building near my house, which I've reason to believe hasn't had any landscaping done on it since the era of leaded gas, and hasn't seen any industrial chemicals over the years. Thus the lead present in the soil should be that placed there by the transport mechanisms discussed in Mielke's papers. The samples were drawn from the surface layer of the soil (between about 1 and 4 cm down), at varied distances from the building.

28th St Series: Collected from the side of the building that faces a less-busy street (28th St E in Minneapolis, at 35th Ave S), with only a mild slope rising from the road. One sample is from the median abutting the street, one from right next to the building, and one from about mid-way in between.  Pictures: 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F 1G

36th Ave Series: Collected from the side of the building facing a much busier street (36th Ave S in Minneapolis, at 28th St E), with regular bus traffic, but a substantial slope leading away from the road. One sample is from just inside the yard from the sidewalk, one from right next to the building, and one from about mid-way (closer to the building, though).  Pictures: 2A 2B 2C 2D 2E 2G 2H

The accompanying pictures depict each site, and the containers in the pictures indicate the exact spots where the samples were collected. Not wanting to tear up the (natty) school grounds, I dug where there was already nothing there, or just a weed; so I didn't have utter freedom to pick my spots.

The building has not been used as a school for many years, I think. It is now home to a warehouse for the ReUse Center, as well as home to a variety of small nonprofits.

Please feel free to contact Rob if you have any questions about the sampling.

Last Updated 3/4/2009