Contaminants in Roadside Soils: State or Province Specific Studies

A field study was conducted of atmospheric pollution and air quality impacts generated from a road widening project to gain insight into construction-related atmospheric release of particulate matter (PM), the near-road pollutant concentration impacts that result from those atmospheric releases, and opportunities to mitigate potential impacts. (2010)

In order to study the influence of urban building form on flow and dispersion of vehicular exhaust that contributes to atmospheric pollution, field measurements were performed on major arterials in five Southern Californian cities with different building geometries. Local mean wind, turbulence, virtual temperature, roadside fine particulate matter concentration, and traffic flow data were collected. (2010)

The local environment affected by the road surface and traffic has been termed the "road effect zone". The objectives of the proposal are: 1) To develop a long-term integrated experimental site at the newly-established University of California, Davis Advanced Transportation Infrastructure Research Center, and 2) To establish a modeling framework for future research on the road effect zone, with special emphasis on defining parameters of relevance for California road systems, but with methodologically broader applicability.

Heavy metal content of roadside soil samples from along the interstate highway systems in Corpus Christi, Texas and Cincinnati, Ohio was measured to assess the degree of contamination such soils contain and the likelihood that this contamination can be remobilized. 2003

Anthropogenic contributions of lead to the urban environment havebeen dominated by combustion of leaded gasoline. A number of studies have used lead concentrations in road deposited sediments(RDSs) to infer automobile contributions. However, few studies have combined concentration data, enrichment ratios, and lead isotope ratio data into a comprehensive picture of lead contamination of road sediments. 2003

Leaded gasoline has been used as fuel for trucks and automobiles in the United States since 1924; it has been implicated as a source of lead that is deposited on the soil and eventually can be ingested by small children, contributing to their burden of this toxic metal. The lead content of 667 surface-soil samples (taken at depths of 0-5 cm) and 159 subsurface-soil samples (from depths of 25-30 cm) collected from Illinois play areas near roads was measured and related to traffic variables 1987

Ecological effects of recent highway construction on soils, hydrology, vegetation, and wildlife have been cooperatively evaluated for some common woodland and wetland types in central lower Michigan. A report on the soils portion of those Michigan Department of State Highways-sponsored studies follows. 1977

The lead content of soils along Chicago's two expressways, the Chicago Loop-terminal Expressway and the Eisenhower Expressway, have been determined in various seasons of the year and at various distances from the roadway. 1973

Roadside soils are heavily loaded with reactive nitrogen due to vehicular exhaust that contributes to atmospheric pollution, and these loadings likely acidify near-road soils. Cationic metals are mobilized from acidified soils during exchange reactions. 2015 (Article in press at time of compiling)

Accumulation of lead (Pb) in soil along a new north-south section of Interstate 95 at Beltsville, Md., was monitored annually between 1971 and 1977. 1980

DelDOT’s street sweeping program recently was upgraded, and the amount of waste generated by these operations has increased significantly. Our monitoring program includes physical/chemical analyses of sweeper wastes in order to assess the effectiveness of street sweeping as a stormwater best management practice and to determine disposal and/or recycling options for these residuals. 2006

Over the last several decades, there has been increased attention on the heavy metal contamination associated with highways because of the associated health hazards and risks. Here, the results are reported of an analysis of the content of metals in roadside dust samples of selected major highways in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada

Street sediment collected in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario was examined for trace element composition (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, Ni and Zn) and the metal partitioning to various sediment properties was determined by sequential extraction. 1996

This research examines traffic-related trace element atmospheric release and their uptake by plants grown in urban roadside environments in Toronto, Canada. Oregano (Origanum vulgare), beets (Beta vulgaris) and eggplants (Solanum melongena) were cultivated at four locations with variable traffic-related metal inputs in 2010. 2013