Re: contaminated soils
- To: "Barbara Hardy"
- Subject: Re: [cg] contaminated soils
- From: s*
- Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 23:13:05 -0500
Here is some information I have concerning soil contamination hope it helps.
tera
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Standards
Metal low, average, direct contact maximum acceptable amount
cadmium 3mcg/gm,1.2mcg/gm,200mcg/gm
copper 23-40mcg/gm, 32mcg/gm, 16,000mcg/gm
chromium 33-77mcg/gm, 18mcg/gm, over 2,000mcg/gm
lead 78-146mcg/gm, 21mcg/gm, over 400mcg/gm
zinc 47mcg/gm(average), 140,000mcg/gm
Chlorinated Hydrocarbons
Direct contact maximum acceptable amount in ppm (parts per million)
DDT 29,000ppm
DDD 41,000ppm
DDE 29,000ppm
Chlordane 17,000ppm
Chlordane-trans
Chlordane-cis
Heptachlor Expoxide
Dieldrin 620ppm
Dicofol no DEQ standard; limited use; similar to
DDT
Diazinon 76,000ppm
Extra info:
Use Compost. Compounds like DDT and lead can be retained in the soil by
adding organic matter like compost. Compost has properties that cause some
compounds to 'bind' to the compost, and sometimes it even helps to degrade
the compound.
Tilling in compost can also help to dilute the amount of a compound in the
soil.
Growing green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, chard, collards should be
avoided.
There are two people working around the New York area sculptor Mel Chin and
Rufus Chaney, an agronomist who have been studying which plants have the
best ability to absorb heavy metals and toxic chemicals from the soil in
which they're grown. Check out "Heavy Metal Garden" by Amy Adams May-June
1998 issue of The Utne Reader (first printed in New Scientist Dec.27 1997
from IPC magazines) From what I understand this process is called
phytoremediation and the following web sites may be of interest.
Phytoremediation of Lead in Soil
http://aec-www.apgea.army.mil:8080/prod/usaec/et/restor/phyremld.htm
Phytoremediation of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils
http://www.crcpress.com/index.htm?catalog/LA4146
A Citizen's Guide to Phytoremediation
http://clu-in.org/PRODUCTS/CITGUIDE/Phyto.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Hardy <bhhardy@bellsouth.net>
To: Elaine Petkovsek <epetkovsek@envdesigni.com>
Cc: 'community_garden@mallorn.com' <community_garden@mallorn.com>
Date: Monday, November 15, 1999 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: [cg] contaminated soils
>I would be interested in learning about this as well. Elaine, could you
post to
>the list a summary of your received responses?
>
>Thank you,
>
>Barbara Hardy
>
>Elaine Petkovsek wrote:
>
>> I am interested in finding publications and/or information relating to
safe
>> levels of contaminants in soil in gardens being used for community
gardens.
>> In my work as an environmental engineer, I often encounter contaminants
in
>> concentrations above state regulated levels for residential properties,
but
>> are below "background" levels found in urban areas. These include
arsenic,
>> berrylium, and polynuclear aromatic compounds. These metals and
compounds
>> are often found at levels which exceed that standards for the ingestion
>> pathway soil remediation objectives listed in the Illinois EPA's TACO
>> regulations. I would like to see some information on acceptable levels
of
>> metals/PNAs in soils in which food crops are to be grown. In addition, I
>> would be interested in receiving information on food crops which should
not
>> be grown in urban gardens, since they tend to draw toxins out of the
soil.
>>
>> If you have information on any or all of these subjects, please contact
me
>> via e-mail at my home address: orion@adash.com. Elaine Petkovsek
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> community_garden maillist - community_garden@mallorn.com
>> https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>community_garden maillist - community_garden@mallorn.com
>https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
>
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