Post #2169121
2026-04-25 23:07 UTC
Would I happen to know anyone in the Boston area who has a portable XRF analyzer?
I'm curious to see how it works for soil lead testing, but *also* to talk to someone about what the care and feeding of these analyzers is like in practice, and how feasible it might be to set up a program for helping people in the area test their soil, including raised beds.
(I've been thinking of buying one for this purpose, as prices are down a bit.)
#SomervilleMA #CambridgeMA #BostonMA #chemistry
Replies (2)
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@timmc@better.boston 2026-04-25 23:14
Soil lead testing is *expensive*, over $100 per sample. A $6k analyzer would break even at 60 samples. That's a neighborhood of people's yards tested. I'm having some trouble finding out whether this is a reliable method, though, and what the drawbacks might be.
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@Methylzero@mast.hpc.social 2026-04-26 14:21
@timmc@better.boston Handheld XRF analyzers have a rather mixed reputation regarding the data they produce. Unless you can get a model that outputs the actual spectrum recorded, rather than whatever the onboard software decides the spectrum means, this might be a bad idea.