Free Soil Lead Screening: Spring Drop-Off Event

In Allegheny county, there has been a surge in interest in backyard gardening as well as revitalization of vacant lot space to be used for urban agriculture, community greenspace, play yard construction, and more.

Get your soil screened for lead for free by the Allegheny County Conservation District. Contaminants are common in urban soil, and can be hazardous to health when ingested or inhaled during gardening or outdoor activities. Soil testing is the first step to reduce your risk of exposure.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. REGISTER: registration is REQUIRED. Registration can be found online at https://ACCDSoilScreenSpring25.eventbrite.com

2. CONTACT & COLLECT: Prior to drop off window, ACCD will contact you via email to confirm your registration with detailed instructions on how to collect, label, and drop off your soil samples. Please note any soil samples submitted with incorrect bagging or label will be discarded!

3 . DROP OFF: Once you've collected and labeled your soil samples, drop off at any of the locations below between Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 23:

• EAST END: Garden Resource Center located at 147 Putnam St, Pgh, PA 15206
• SOUTH SIDE: Soil Sisters Plant Nursery located at 123 Beltzhoover Ave, Pgh, PA 15210
• WEST END: Farmer Girl Eb Shop located at 1 Noblestown Rd, Pgh, PA 15220
• NORTHSIDE: Allegheny Commons Community Garden located at 300 Stockton Ave, Pgh, PA 15212
• CENTRAL: Peace and Freindship Farm located at 678 Somers St, Pgh, PA 15219
• BRADDOCK: Greater Valley Community Services Garden located at 300 Holland Ave, Braddock, PA 15104
• MON VALLEY: McKeesport Family Center open daily between 8 AM- 6 PM located at 339 Fifth Avenue, 2nd Floor McKeesport, PA 15132

4. RESULTS: Results will be sent to you within approximately two weeks via email, along with information to help you understand and act on your results.

Contact Hayly Hoch at [email protected] or call 412-241-7645 ext. 8009 for questions and more information.

DISCLAIMER: This free Soil Lead Screening event is a health education event where community members are offered free lead screenings to raise awareness of potential lead in their soil sample, and about how to avoid exposure to lead while gardening or playing in yards. Please note that ACCD’s XRF soil analysis is a rapid and cost-effective field method for identifying soil contaminants for educational purposes only. ACCD holds no responsibility for land use or viability based on results. This screening method will provide participants with approximate lead levels (ppm) but cannot provide information about source(s) of lead in soils; however, lead in soils is highly variable and results may not be representative of site. Participants may wish to seek further laboratory testing; additional laboratory testing is available via Penn State Extension or UMASS Soil Analysis Lab for a fee. It is the sole responsibility of the property owner to learn about risk associated with various soil lead concentrations, protect themselves from lead exposure, and act on results. The results obtained via Free Soil Lead Screening CANNOT be utilized for Adopt-A-Lot or Farm-A-Lot applications; these applications require technical assistance site visit to be coordinated after application process is initiated.

Host or Publisher Allegheny County Conservation District