Testing Low-Cost Lead Detection Methods

Project Background:

Through this project, a consortium, including Pure Earth, Tauw, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and other project partners, will identify contaminated sites and assess the performance and feasibility of low-cost detection methods for lead in soil and select consumer products, specifically spices.

Researchers will evaluate the results of conventional lead detection methods—including an X-ray fluorescence analyser (XRF) and laboratory results—against at least two lower-cost methods. Once the lower-cost methods have been evaluated, the team will determine which (if any) is suitable for use among community groups as a screening method for lead-contaminated sites and consumer products. This will be done by including the successful technique(s) in a wider Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP), where India-based Pure Earth staff and a local implementing partner will collect data on additional lead-contaminated sites with a variety of characteristics. Pure Earth India will develop corresponding training materials and build capacity within a local partner the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), to promote the use of the method as a means of accessible detection of harmful lead in their surroundings.