8th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Presenter(s): Haley Greiner and Paul Mefford
Title: Concentration of Lead in Soil and Plant Life from a 30 year old Gun Range
Developed under the guidance of Mr. Jason Ezell , Chemistry

Research was conducted to monitor and determine how the toxic metal Lead migrated through the environment of a decommissioned gun range. A systematic survey of the site was conducted to determine the location of the maximum Lead deposit. From this origin, surrounding soil was sampled at varying distances to monitor how the metal has moved after three decades. Plant life was sampled in a similar fashion to determine if metal had entered the local biome. Gravimetric measurements were made to determine gross levels of Lead, and an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer was used to determine trace amounts of soluble Lead.