Bring a soil sample from your home garden or outdoor child play area on June 4 to the Superior Town Hall, 199 N. Lobb Ave. in Superior to have it tested for arsenic and lead.
Anyone from the Superior region is welcome to visit from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and learn about your own soil, the best practices to avoid lead and arsenic exposure, gardening in residential soils and childhood lead poisoning prevention resources. While you wait for your results, enjoy food and games and learn about past soil studies in the area!
To collect soil samples, choose between five to 10 random spots in the garden, play area or other non-garden area. If you have a very small area, select three random spots, instead.
In your garden area, collect all soil from the surface down six to eight inches deep per spot. Mix soil from all spots in a clean container. Remove pebbles, rocks and roots and air dry. Do not use any flame, fire, heat gun, or oven to dry the soil.
Transfer 1-2 cups of the mixed soil into a clean quart-sized freezer bag. If you do not have a measuring cup, the bag should not be more than half full or weigh more than half a pound. Be sure to label your sample bag with the location where soil samples were taken and how many soil samples were taken.
For the play or other non-garden area, collect all soils from surface down one to two inches. Otherwise, the protocol is the same. Do not mix soil from this area with garden soil.
Each person or family may bring up to two samples, which will need to be submitted by noon, to allow time for analysis.
If you have any questions, you are invited to contact Dr. Monica Ramirez Andreotta by calling 520-621-0091 or by emailing mdramire@arizona.edu.