{"id":51094,"date":"2023-06-09T07:28:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T11:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=51094"},"modified":"2023-08-30T21:38:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T01:38:07","slug":"utc-students-participate-in-epa-project-that-tests-for-lead-in-the-soil-of-chattanooga-neighborhoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/utc-students-participate-in-epa-project-that-tests-for-lead-in-the-soil-of-chattanooga-neighborhoods\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC students participate in EPA project that tests for lead in the soil of Chattanooga neighborhoods"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UTC

UTC MPH student Savannah Ward takes soil samples near Alton Park. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

A half-inflated, rather-sad soccer ball sits in the middle of the vacant lot. It\u2019s a big lot, larger than two side-by-side football fields, but University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student Gabriella Logsdon and five co-workers don\u2019t have to wander across its entirety or kick the soccer ball out of the way.<\/p>\n

With chrome soil testers, which look like a combination of shovel and scooter handlebars, they\u2019re moving around a smaller section of the lot\u2014randomly plunging the end of the soil tester into the hard-packed ground and then dumping its small piece of soil into an aluminum cake pan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun,\u201d said Logsdon, who graduated with a bachelor\u2019s in environmental science in May. She is part of a multidisciplinary program connecting students with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s search for lead in a group of South Chattanooga neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Soil testing in eight local neighborhoods is part of the EPA College\/Underserved Community Partnership, a five-year commitment between UTC and EPA signed in November 2022.<\/p>\n

As part of the partnership, UTC students are invited to participate in EPA public policy forums, presentations, seminars and other public events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point of the program is to allow students the opportunity to get knowledge in their field of study while working in underserved neighborhoods and providing a service, typically free of charge, that\u2019s volunteer work in exchange for course credit,\u201d said Jasmin Jeffries, EPA remedial project manager for the Chattanooga-based testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents get experience with EPA, hands-on experience that they wouldn\u2019t get otherwise,\u201d said Dr. Dawn Ford, assistant professor in the Master of Public Health program in the Department of Health and Human Performance at UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get to meet community members and talk to them about real-world problems. This is what UTC wants out of its students, to be able to engage in the community with these kinds of projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In May 2023, the Tennessee Department of Health released a study showing that the\u00a0percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels has been higher than in surrounding areas in Hamilton County for nine of the previous 10 years.<\/p>\n

The department recommended that residents in South Chattanooga regularly \u201chave their children tested for lead, have their soil tested for contaminants, and take care when growing produce in their yards,\u201d the study said.<\/p>\n

At a Black History Month event in February, Laura Baker, who is in the first year of a master\u2019s program in public health at UTC, staffed a table with information about the EPA lead testing in Chattanooga neighborhoods. She said many people who approached the table weren\u2019t aware that testing was even taking place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think a lot of Chattanooga does, although it\u2019s a really huge project, and it will impact our community in many years to come, I believe,\u201d said Baker, who grew up in Tullahoma, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Logsdon, who graduated from Sequoyah High School in Soddy-Daisy, said she became interested in lead testing after taking the \u201cIntroduction to Soil Resources\u201d course at UTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with it. It\u2019s insanely interesting,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a completely different field for me, and it\u2019s something I\u2019ve been interested in. This has been a really good opportunity for me to see what it\u2019s like in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before soil testing is done, owners of the homes and vacant lots are approached to get permission. If lead is detected, the EPA recommends removing the lead, a multi-step process that includes digging down two feet, removing the contaminated soil, then replacing it with clay and soil indigenous to Chattanooga, Logsdon said.<\/p>\n

Once those details are given, most property owners agree without a problem, but not all, Jeffries said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a few homeowners that have kind of given pushback after they\u2019ve already been sampled. They\u2019re like, \u2018No, we don\u2019t want to do the cleanup after all,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut for the most part, if someone requests sampling, they do want a cleanup, especially those with children.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne guy was chasing us down the street, saying, \u2018Hey! Hey!\u2019 trying to get our attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker also has a personal connection to the lead-testing project.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother rented a house in one of the neighborhoods where they\u2019re doing cleanup, and I don\u2019t think he ever had anyone come to his house, but he had no idea that soil was in his yard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tested neighborhoods<\/h4>\n