How can I test my soil for led? Citizen science Q&A with Gabriel Filippelli

Lead and other contaminants found in the soil around long shuttered factories and current industry in Illinois and Indiana have left people wary of what might be hiding in their own neighborhoods. How can you find out? Gabriel Filippelli, a professor of earth sciences and director of the Center for Urban Health at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, can help. He trains citizen scientists — that is, everyday people who learn scientific techniques — to collect or test soil and dust samples in their own environment. People send him samples from all over the country. In one case, data collected by citizen scientists in Indianapolis that showed an area was contaminated led to a $5 million EPA cleanup of the site.