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A Gardenroots publication, which demonstrated that plant leaves work as a reliable air monitor, was selected as one of the top NIEHS papers of 2021.

Gardenroots demonstrated that leaves can be used as a low-cost, reliable method to assess the level of metals in airborne dust. The method can help assess exposure from former mine sites that emit heavy metals that can be distributed by wind to nearby communities.

Twenty participants from Superior, Arizona, placed a potted peppermint plant and disc sampler in a self-selected area, usually outside of their home. After one month, they submitted two leaves and the disc for analysis of seven different metals — arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, aluminum, nickel, and zinc.

On both the leaves and discs, levels of all metals decreased as distance from the mine increased. The results suggest that plant leaves can serve as a reliable monitor of metal-laden aerosols and that the low-cost technique is applicable to sites where resources are limited.

Citation: Zeider K, Van Overmeiren N, Rine KP, Sandhaus S, Eduardo Saez A, Sorooshian A, Munoz HC Sr, Ramirez-Andreotta MD. 2021. Foliar surfaces as dust and aerosol pollution monitors: an assessment by a mining site. Sci Total Environ 790:148164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148164.

Check out the summary prepared by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/2021/10/papers/dert#a2