Educational Programs and Outreach
Neuqua Valley High School ESRP 2018
Study of Manganese in Soils Collected From Chicago Residential Areas
Authors:
- Students:
- Samaksh Goyal
- Girik Jain
- Gillen Nelson
- Catherine O’Reilly
- Noah Simandl
- Joyce Zhou
- Teachers:
- Daria Prawlocki
- Mentors:
- Meleah Geersma (Chicago Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC))
- William Guise (Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Photon Source, DND-CAT)
- Denis T. Keane (Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Photon Source, DND-CAT)
- Qing Ma (Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Photon Source, DND-CAT)
- Deborah Musiker (Northwestern Pritzker Law, Environmental Advocacy Group)
Advanced Photon Source Sector 5: DND-CAT
X-Ray fluorescence was used to estimate the concentration of manganese in soil. Soil was taken from six separate residences in the city of Chicago which are in the vicinity of industrial activities involving manganese. A background soil sample was also taken at a location in Naperville away from suspected industrial use of manganese. XANES (X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure) scans were collected to estimate the oxidation state of manganese and to compare and contrast the types of manganese compounds present in the different soil samples.