By Lily Hoffman, Audrey Turner

Faculty Mentor: Melanie Szulczewski

Abstract

Environmental injustice is when poor or marginalized communities are negatively impacted by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and land use that they don’t benefit from. Legacy pollution of heavy metals may exist in soils in a way that disproportionately affects areas with certain socioeconomic factors. Human exposures to excess lead in soils, for example, can occur from ingesting the contaminated soils, particles on clothes and shoes, and gardening which can lead to damage to the brain and nervous system, development, especially in children (CDC, 2022). Arsenic is a known carcinogen and can be deposited from past use of chemicals and fossil fuels (Chirenje et al. 2003). Copper is necessary for both plants and animals for enzyme function, however absorption of excess copper can lead to chronic Cu poisoning. It is often correlated with organic matter, carbonates, clays, pH, and Mn–Fe hydroxides (Kabata-Pendias and Szteke 2015). Other metals, including micronutrients, have similar health concerns. The research question driving this pilot project was to look for correlations between soil health factors and socioeconomic factors in the soils of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, with a total population of 28,757.