This summer, LEJ Eco-Apprentices took part in a soils analysis study in Southeast San Francisco. On August 17th, EcoApprentices presented at the Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Task Force Meeting. The topic was: “Lead Contamination in San Francisco Neighborhoods.”
View the presentation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nBZwo-Crzkifpi2d4FTxbOB3bZreVHpt/view?ts=63050af8
Community Programs Manager, Russ Aguilar, reports, “We had 5 Eco-Apprentices who learned about the importance of environmental monitoring, and took air, soil, and water quality tests in Southeast San Francisco. Partnering with Jim Neiss-Cortez of East Bay Academy for Young Scientists, we dove deep into soil sampling and testing. Over the course of several weeks, the Eco-Apprentices mapped and collected soil samples from Hunters Point, the Brete Harte neighborhood, Visitacion Valley, Mclaren Park, Noe Valley, Lake Merced, and Candlestick Park.”
“They then dried and analyzed the soil samples with an Elemental X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer to determine levels of heavy metals and radioactive elements in the soil sample. After looking over the data, the Eco-Apprentices determined that lead was the primary element of concern. They discovered elevated and potentially dangerous levels of lead in soil samples collected from Noe Valley and the Brete Harte neighborhood, while lead levels were considerably lower in Visitacion Valley and Hunters Point. The team concluded that this was most likely from residential sources, including the development and redevelopment of these neighborhoods. Furthermore, the study showed signs that surface soil remediation efforts at Hunters Point have had some measure of success.”
“The Eco-Apprentices presented their findings at the Bayview-Hunters Point Environmental Justice Task Force Meeting in August, both presenting ideas about further studies that could be done and getting great ideas from the community.”
“I was really glad to see how excited and engaged the EcoApprentices were in applying the scientific method to an environmental health and justice issue in our city! They were consistently coming up with great ideas about where and how we could collect samples, as well as ideas for further testing that will be used in future iterations of the EcoApprentice program.”
Here’s where you can see the findings–navigate to San Francisco (to note–a few SF samples were not collected by us, specifically the ones in Golden Gate Park). https://ebaysenvironment.herokuapp.com/map
