Re: soil decontamintaion

l* v*

Hi there,
I'm not an expert, but have encountered very high lead levels in Mpls. The 
University here recommends removal. They don't think that plant uptake is 
very significant, certainly not in terms of the speed by which a small child 
can ingest and be harmed by lead. Since removal of the soil on the actual 
property is already being considered, I support you on that. As far as 
containment of the pollutants next door, without knowing exactly what you've 
got there, I think that concrete is pretty sound. There might be a leaching 
problem if there is a chemical reaction through a plastic material. Also 
consider a planted barrier, a buffer of ornamentals or perhaps the plants 
suggested in the phytoremediation paper. We have planted attractive buffers 
where salt damage, noise, traffic or general abuse are expected. In those 
buffers (and the rest of the area) the addition of large quantities of 
organic matter will really cut the ratio of any residual metals. I'll poke 
around the university a bit more. Good luck,
Lisa in Mpls.

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