SAMPLING AND EVALUATION OF SOIL FOR LEAD CONTAMINATION - CRITERIA FORDETERMINING PERMISSIBLE CONCENTRATIONS IN SOIL

Lead abatement is arising in the United States as a new industry. Trad itionally, sampling and abatement of indoor surfaces were considered t he primary mechanism of reducing and evaluating exposure to lead-conta minated materials. Recent studies have suggested that soil containing high concentrations of lead represent an important source of exposure. The first step in determining the relevance of lead in soil is to tes t and evaluate this medium. A review and discussion of the permissible lead levels described in various state regulations for soil are prese nted in this paper. Risk assessment data are presented for soil lead r anging from 100 to 1,000 ppm using no cover, partial cover and full co ver in determining the contributory concentration to the receptor. Con cepts used in evaluating sample results are briefly discussed.