Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Earth & Environmental Systems

First Advisor

Jennifer Latimer

Second Advisor

Alex Elvis Badillo

Third Advisor

Jeffery Stone

Abstract

Heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, can be toxic if exposure levels are too high. People are often concerned about lead exposure from water or paint, but soil is another potential exposure avenue for many metals. While some heavy metals, including mercury and lead, are found in emissions from coal-burning power plants and from incinerators, many metals accumulate in soils from past uses (ex. lead paint, leaded gasoline, chemical spills, industrial emissions, and natural occurrences). It is important to have soil tested to check metal concentrations because consumption or inhalation of these metals can lead to permanent damage and even death depending on exposure levels. For example, background levels for soil in Indiana are <31 ppm lead, but depending on land use, soil lead concentrations may be considered unsafe at relatively low levels, such as 100–200 ppm in soils used for gardening. The purpose of this research is to analyze heavy metals in rural soils of Jennings County, Indiana. This research is novel because most studies of heavy metals in soils have focused on urban and suburban soils. For this research, 500 test kits were sent to public schools in Jennings County. Of these, 147 kits were returned for analysis. An additional 250 soil samples of opportunity (SOP) were collected in Jennings County to have adequate spatial resolution to model metal concentrations throughout the county. Soils collected were analyzed using portable X-Ray Fluorescence, Direct Mercury Analysis, and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy following extraction with simulated gastric solution to estimate metal bioavailability.

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