New Device's Radio Waves Reveal Lead Contamination In Soil

Cornell Tech researchers have developed a portable device called SoilScanner that uses radio frequency signals and machine learning to detect lead contamination in soil. It offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional methods of testing that 'generally involves either sending samples to a lab for analysis, which relies upon harsh chemicals and can be expensive, or using a portable X-ray fluorescence device,' notes Phys.org. From the report: 'In recent years, especially during COVID, a lot of us got excited about having our own backyard garden, or spending more time at home,' said [Rajalakshmi Nandakumar, assistant professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech] who's also a member of the Department of Information Science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. 'But if you look at instructions for how to grow tomatoes, no one actually tells you that you have to check your soil for lead,' she said. 'It's all about pH levels. A lot of us, even though we interact very often with soils, are totally unaware of possible lead contamination.'

[Yixuan Gao, a doctoral candidate in computer science] said the group was motivated by a map of lead contamination in New York City that Cheng's Urban Soils Lab (USL) had produced over the course of several years of testing for hundreds of soil samples throughout the five boroughs. The testing revealed dangerously high levels of lead in many locations, most notably in northern Brooklyn. About 45% of the soil samples tested by USL had lead levels above 400 parts per million (ppm), the previous EPA recommended screening level (revised a year ago to 200 ppm for residential soils). 'This means there is a significant risk when gardening in these urban soils,' Gao said. You can learn more about the device here (PDF).

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