Abstract
The atmospheric, edaphic, and vegetative components of the roadside ecosystem contain elevated levels of lead originating from the combustion of lead containing gasolines by motor vehicles. The size of this ecosystem approximates 3.04 X 107 hectares (118,000 square miles) in the United States. Recent evidence has greatly refined our understanding of the distribution and localization of lead in the roadside environment. This paper is a representative review of some of this recent evidence. Vehicles release approximately 80 mg of lead/km to the atmospheric compartment in the form of inorganic lead salts ranging in size from 1 to 5 µ. Lead content of roadside atmospheres may be elevated 2-20 times non-roadside atmospheres. Sedimentation from the atmospheric compartment results in lead contamination of the soil and vegetative compartments. Lead in the upper 5 cm of the soil profile may be elevated 30 times non-roadside soil within a few m of a street or highway. The soil lead is largely bound by organic matte...
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