Following the Residues of the Lead Industry
Lead - a toxic heavy metal - is dispersed across yards, playgrounds, parks, and empty lots in cities around the world, the result of decades of leaded automobile emissions and centuries of mining and industrial pollution which continue to this day. Because lead does not break down over time, remediation of our planet's soils to some previously pure or safe baseline condition may be impossible. Given this challenge, how do scientists, decision-makers, and affected communities attempt to reduce the harms caused by lead residues in soil?
To answer this question, my latest book project traces soil lead residues across several parts of the world with distinctive roles in the global lead industry. The main goal is to understand how people in each area create knowledge about soil lead, develop and promote methods to reduce exposures, and change the social and economic circumstances in which lead exposures occur. By "following the chemical" from lead mines to the soils of urban neighborhoods, I hope to offer new ways to conceptualize the global problem of lead residues, while illuminating possible solutions that are emerging in particular locales.
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation (Award # 2043301) and builds on my ongoing collaboration with the Our Soil/Nuestros Suelos project. In 2022, I am conducting field research in England (as a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study at Durham University), Australia (as a visiting professorial fellow at the University of New South Wales), and Chile (in collaboration with Sebastian Ureta and the Our Soil/Nuestros Suelos team).
To answer this question, my latest book project traces soil lead residues across several parts of the world with distinctive roles in the global lead industry. The main goal is to understand how people in each area create knowledge about soil lead, develop and promote methods to reduce exposures, and change the social and economic circumstances in which lead exposures occur. By "following the chemical" from lead mines to the soils of urban neighborhoods, I hope to offer new ways to conceptualize the global problem of lead residues, while illuminating possible solutions that are emerging in particular locales.
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation (Award # 2043301) and builds on my ongoing collaboration with the Our Soil/Nuestros Suelos project. In 2022, I am conducting field research in England (as a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study at Durham University), Australia (as a visiting professorial fellow at the University of New South Wales), and Chile (in collaboration with Sebastian Ureta and the Our Soil/Nuestros Suelos team).