There may be some contaminants that are broken down into organic materials by plants or worms, but I do know that heavy metals don't just disappear when plants are used to remove them from the soil. In properly planned phytoremediation projects, plant material is removed before it sets fruit and the plant material is placed in a toxic waste landfil or incinerated in a smelter to remove the heavy metals. In poorly planned phytoremediation projects, plants like sunflowers or corn (which are good at taking up lead) are planted and allowed to fruit so that birds and other animals eat the toxic seeds, sickening the wildlife and then redistributing the contamination in the environment.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 10:14 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [cg] decontamination of soil Just came across the following: A winter clover known as berseem clover proved to be effective at removing heavy metals from soil. I do not know how this variety would grow in NO. Ken Hargesheimer ______________________________________________________ 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
