‘DANGER’ METALS IN CHURCHYARDS

DANGEROUS elements like lead are present in concentrated levels in graveyard soils around UK churches, new analysis has found.

Keele University’s Dr Jamie Pringle led a team that analysed soil in two UK churchyards – one in Keele village and another in Norfolk.

They found elevated levels of heavy metals like iron, lead, manganese, chromium, copper, zinc and calcium in the soil.

Dr Pringle said: “This paper provides evidence that soils in many longlived burial sites will be contaminated, both in soils on the surface and deeper into the ground.”

The findings have been published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research.