NYC Soil Lead Contamination

For the last 10 years Brooklyn College Urban Soils Lab has been collecting data on NYC urban soil contamination. Elevated trace metal concentrations, in particular, lead (Pb), are prevalent in urban soils and it is one of the main hurdles for urban agriculture. In this study, the spatial distribution of Pb in NYC gardens was analyzed and visualized by Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. Pollution level and ecological risks of gardens in NYC were evaluated with different indices. Based on the pollution load index, soil quality of the majority of NYC gardens were characterized as polluted. Our findings have important implications for the development of pollution prevention and mitigation strategies to reduce public health risk from garden soil trace metal contamination. Our work was featured in CBS news and New York Post.