Contaminants are common in urban soil, and can be hazardous to health when ingested or inhaled. Soil testing is the first step to reduce your risk of exposure whether you are backyard gardening, urban farming, stewarding community green space, or revitalizing a vacant lot. Before attending a soil screening, follow the instructions below to properly prepare your sample:
- Identify 1 site of interest at a time (yard, garden bed, playground, etc.). This area should not exceed 100 square feet (10’ by 10’). If it is larger, split it into separate samples.
- Put on protective gear! To reduce risk of inhaling or ingesting soil with lead contaminants, wear gloves and mask.
- Use shovel or hand trowel to collect 5 small scoops from different spots around the site. Please note, to get a representative sample, every sample MUST contain soil from 5 different spots around the site. Collect from the top 2 inches for lawns and play areas, & 6 inches deep for garden areas.
- Mix those 5 scoops together in a bucket.
- Remove any large debris like large rocks, leaves, grasses, or trash. Samples must be dry prior to bagging! If sample is damp or wet, lay it on a piece of paper in the sun to dry or dry in a paper bag for a few days prior to bagging.
- Once sample is dry, transfer 1 cup of the mixed soil in an individual, sealed, Ziploc-style bag. You must use a clear, sandwich or freezer bag. ACCD will test the soil through the bag plastic using an x-ray tool, and the instrument cannot see through colored or heavy plastic (ie. NO giant Eagle grocery bags, take out bags, etc.). ACCD may discard your sample if improperly bagged.
- Once your sample is bagged, you must clearly label each bag with sharpie or other permanent marker.
- Repeat steps 2-5 with other sites of interest. If you have more than 1 sample, keep a record at home of where you pulled each sample. We will only identify your results by number and letter (ex. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D). You will have to connect each sample back to where it came from.
- Wash your hands immediately after collecting soil samples.
Check out this video for step-by-step collection demonstration:
How to collect a soil sample (youtube.com)