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SEM of Soil Particles on Floor Tiles (Image 2)
SEM of Soil Particles on Floor Tiles (Image 2)
Before and after: Scanning electron micrographs of soil particles on floor tiles after vacuum cleaning.
While lead paint is widely known to contribute to blood lead poisoning in children, lead from dirt is emerging as another important source of lead. Undergraduate student Natalie McKinney, under the direction of David L. Johnson (SUNY) and Andrew Hunt (UNYSPEC), studied how the amount of lead on floors is affected by vacuuming. That kind of cleaning removes big dirt particles, but not the little particles that contain much of the lead. The effects of cleaning are illustrated by this electron microscope image, which shows a floor after vacuuming. The picture shows an area that is only 8/1000ths of an inch across.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, awarded to SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Chemistry Department, professor Theodore S. Dibble PI (grant CHE 02-43959). (Date of Image: July 2004) [Image 1 of 2 related images. See Image 2.]
Credit: Experiment of Natalie McKinney; photographed by D.L. Johnson, SUNY-ESF.
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