Although literature studies have shown that arsenic, chromium, and copper leach from pressure treated wood preserved with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) into the surrounding soil, more focus has been placed on arsenic because it is a known human carcinogen. EPA banned the use of CCA-treated wood for residential applications in 2004, but existing wooden structures still present a danger of arsenic exposure to small children who come in contact with them. A 2007 study of a local playground used atomic absorption spectroscopy to establish that arsenic contamination is restricted to the areas immediately surrounding wooden playstructures. The method used involved extensive sample preparation prior to instrumental analysis. The goal of this study is to use a field portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer to investigate arsenic contamination in the soil of the same playground and compare our data with the 2007 study. Using XRF, soil will be analyzed on-site and off-site in both the areas adjacent to wooden structures and underneath buffer materials (pebbles) to see if arsenic is also trapped underneath the pebbles. Off-site XRF analysis of collected soil samples will be performed following drying and sieving to determine the effect of sample homogeneity on the precision of results. This research is supported by the Bridgewater State University Adrian Tinsley Program.

Establishing the extent of arsenic contamination in playground soil using field-portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

247th National Meeting (2014)

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