Cornell Waste Management InstituteHealthy Soils, Healthy Communities Project2017-04-182017-04-182015https://hdl.handle.net/1813/48147Introduction: Metals are naturally present in rock, soil, and other materials. They are also used in manufactured (anthropogenic) materials, and human activity can increase the levels of metals in soil. Urban soils often have higher levels of metals than rural soils because they have been affected more by human activity. Gardening in urban soils may increase your exposure to metals if you swallow or breathe in soil particles or eat food raised in or on the soilmetals in garden soilsurban gardensfact sheet