Local Soil Kitchen to Test Dirt for Metals

NBC 7 Gaby Rodriguez reports. Many Southern California homeowners work to develop a lush garden that lasts throughout the year. A successful vegetable or rose garden begins in the soil. Sometimes, there is something dangerous right under our feet. Soil can contain dangerous levels of metals including lead. High levels of lead can be found in dirt and could be harmful to you and your child’s health, according to researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “It’s one of the mechanisms for children and adults actually to become poisoned by lead which can have a lot of negative impacts in our lives like in children, they can have lower IQ and you can have behavioral problems,” said Jane Willenbring Associate Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This Saturday, a Soil Kitchen will be open for locals to bring a cup of soil from their gardens to be analyzed. A gun acting as an X-ray will be used to determine the levels of metals in the soil. The issue of harmful metals in soil is most prominent in urban areas, a fact suggested by the results of a recent study that named Philadelphia among the top 5 cities with high lead levels. The event begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 14 at 4540 Ocean View Boulevard. Get more information here.