This should not be considered to be the issuance of professional or legal advice. Environmental law is a real "tar baby" and if there is one area where 'due dilligence' is necessary, it's necessary here, especially where childen are involved.
Most of us who community garden in cities have some degree of heavy metals in our soil. The good thing about heavy metals is that they are "heavy. " In many cases, with extensive building up of the soil ( over years) with soil amendments and composting, a safe environment can be created, but not in all cases. I really don't know about arsenic, but I do know something about lead issues: Lead poisoning is devastating to children. If you are going to have kids digging in a garden area, you need to have a clean, raised bed with completely clean, lead free soil for them to dig in. This from the Minnesota web site:" Play areas should always be located away from buildings and fences with chipping or peeling paint. Set up a sandbox as a safe play area. Buy fresh sand from a building supply or landscape supply company. Sand that has come from a demolition site could be contaminated with lead. Cover the sandbox when it is not being used. This will protect the sand from animals, and from contamination with lead paint chips and dust. Children should not play on bare soil, since it may be contaminated with lead. This soil and lead dust can easily get on children's hands and toys, and then into their mouths. Be sure to wash children's hands thoroughly with soap and water after they have been playing outside. Have children play in grassy areas of the yard, or where there is other appropriate ground cover. If the grass under a swing set wears away, cover the area with sand. This provides a soft landing for falls, and prevents children from kicking up contaminated soil when their feet drag under the swing." Here is a US Dept of Health paper on lead pollution in soil as an overview: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/cxlead.html The is the Ohio State University fact sheet on lead in the garden: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1149.html An interesting and helpful page from the East St. Louis Research Project of the University of Illinois at Urbania: http://www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/la/LA437-F94/soils/main.html This page from the Minnesota Dept of Health is prettly clear and the suggestions on this page for food gardening is standard practice for most of us in urban areas. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/lead/homes/worksoil.html There are extensive discussions on heavy metal and environmental pollution on garden sites in the archives of this listserve going back several years: http://www.hort.net/lists/community_garden/ Make yourself that pot of tea and coffee, click, read and print the good stuff. Best wishes, Adam Honigman -----Original Message----- From: Jen Dodd [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 10:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [cg] lead/arsenic in soil i'm fairly new as community garden coordinator and trying to build a program for our county. most urban garden sites have previously had homes on site. anyone know of a good process for dealing with lead/arsenic in the garden soil? our soil is very SANDY. tests reveal that some areas in the gardens are near 'danger' levels of lead/arsenic. i don't want to encourage some sort of 'fear of soil' , or of 'growing food' among gardeners. i suppose a wise process would be to build raised beds and bring in the compost? who out there has a good process of dealing with this issue? are there any horror stories relating to this issue, in the history of urban gardening? thanks a lot. jen dodd americorps/neighborhood nutrition network/gainesville, florida ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
