Question 1

What is a soilSHOP?

Accepted Answer

The name soilSHOP stands for Soil Screening, Health, Outreach and Partnership. It's a health education and outreach tool. SoilSHOPs are designed to protect people from chemicals, like lead, in soil that can lead to adverse health effects.

Question 2

What happens at a soilSHOP event?

Accepted Answer

At a soilSHOP event, we screen people's soil for lead at no cost to participant, give people same day soil screening results, talk to people one-on-one about how to reduce their exposures to lead in soil.

Question 3

Why is it important to screen your soil?

Accepted Answer

Some gardens may have chemicals like lead in the soil from past lead-based paint and leaded gasoline, and from nearby industry. When a property has been used for industrial or commercial activities, the soil is often nutrient deficient, highly compacted and potentially contaminated.

Question 4

How is my soil screened?

Accepted Answer

Trained soilSHOP staff screen soil using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument. The main benefit of the XRF is that it allows for quick, real-time soil screening results. The XRF is a well-accepted and commonly used field instrument for screening soil for heavy metals like lead.

Urban Farm Fair x soilSHOP

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