Beware of lead in garden soil

If you're starting an urban veggie garden this year, you might want to consider having your soil tested for lead, a harmful element that can cause health problems at low doses.

According to a NY Times article:

"'You won’t know if you’re at risk unless you test your soil,' said Murray McBride, a professor of soil chemistry at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y."

"Soil is likely to contain high levels of lead if it is near any structure built before 1978, when lead-based paint was taken off the market, or if a building of that vintage was ever demolished on the site. Pesticides containing lead were often used on fruit trees, so land close to old orchards is also of concern. And beware of soil around heavily trafficked roadways; it, too, is probably laced with lead. But environmental engineers and soil experts said any place is potentially tainted." 

Where can you have your soil tested?  For $12, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County will analyze your soil.