Research into household contaminants
The 360 Dust Analysis program checks for harmful chemicals in household dust, while the Vegesafe program looks for metal and metalloid contaminants in garden soil.
VegeSafe and DustSafe
360 Dust Analysis
The 360 Dust Analysis Program, led by Mark Taylor, is a global research initiative that will collect data on harmful chemicals in regular households.
Find out what chemicals are present in your home
You are invited to take part in the project by submitting a sample which will allow you to learn what chemicals are present in your home. Simply complete a short two-minute questionnaire about your household, collect the contents of your vacuum cleaner, and post the sample.
The research team will then analyse your sample and send you a detailed chemical report, with advice on what to do if there are contaminants at elevated levels. More information on the 360 Dust Analysis website.
VegeSafe
VegeSafe is a community science participation program run by Natural Science staff at Macquarie University. We are the only service of this kind in Australia.
We seek to inform the community about metal and metalloid contaminants in their garden soil through our soil metal testing program. Participants receive a formal report with their soil results and are provided with links to information and advice about "what to do next" in the event of soils containing elevated concentrations of metals and metalloids.
- We accept soil from all Australian states and territories.
- We do not accept soils from overseas due to Australian quarantine regulations.
The principal staff involved are Professor Mark P. Taylor and our lab technician Ms Kara Fry.
Donate to our research
For five years VegeSafe has been operating as a pro bono service to all Australians. In order to keep the program running and accessible to all, the VegeSafe soil metal testing program needs a small donation from participants. We ask if you could consider providing a donation to support the work of the program, starting from $20. Your donation covers the time involved, and the costs of soil analysis and laboratory consumables. Please note: your donation covers up to five samples submitted, it is not per sample.
Soil samples can be sent with a $20 note, or a $20 donation can be made to support our program via: VegeSafe Donation
Our motto is "Carry on gardening" because this is exactly what we want people to do — in the knowledge that both their soils and the produce from their gardens are metal-free.