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Contaminated soil

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

You could sample the soil for chlordane.  On a RCRA human health 
screening table, concentrations of chlordane equal or greater than 0.34 
mg/kg are reported to have a carcinogenic risk of 1/1000.  I would not 
put a garden anywhere near the house because chlordane is particularly 
persistent in soils. It clings to root fibers and decreases soil 
fertility.  I would be particularly careful about root crops.  It is 
also easily absorbed through human skin and digestive tracts, so you 
wouldn't want to handle the soil with your bare hands.

For petroleum contamination you would sample for BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, 
Ethylbenze, and Xylenes) for gasoline and oil, also total lead, and PAH 
(polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons) for diesel fuel.  Your state will 
have varying maximum concentration levels for these contaminants, and 
the laboratory could probably tell you what they are.  Petroleum 
products are less persistent in soils than chlordane.  In many cases 
where it is a problem you can smell the gas or oil in the sample. 

If you buy property in industrial or commercial areas, you might want to 
have an Environmental Phase I Site Assessment performed before you buy 
the property.  Most lending institutions require these for commercial or 
industrial property.  The Phase I could tell you if any past practices 
at the site or on adjacent properties could have caused soil or water 
contamination.  However, soil samples are not included as part of the 
assessment.

I don't know much about lawn pesticides, but you could also ask a local 
lab about that.

I hope this is helpful information.

Sarah 

>From: "Erica Cathers" <erica@jersey.net>
>Reply-To: "Erica Cathers" <erica@jersey.net>
>To: "sarah oddo" <sarahoddo@hotmail.com>, 
<CMBH71C@prodigy.com>,<sqft@listbot.com>
>Subject: Contaminated soil--was Lasagna Gardening
>Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 17:10:17 -0500
>
>Do either of you who wrote about the lead contamination know much about 
other kinds?  For example, in the 60's or 70's, my parent's house was 
treated for termites. Back then, they used chlordane in a large ring 
directly in the soil around the house.  (I know it's awful stuff, but 
I'll tell you we hardly saw a bug of any kind in the house for years!)  
When my parents planted veggies, they knew the stuff was there and 
planted them way out in the yard, uphill so avoid ingesting it.  My 
inlaws house probably has petroleum products in the soil, as my 
father-in-law has been an auto mechanic for about 60 years.  Years back, 
it's just the way people did things.  Even now, you don't know what 
weird fertilizers or garden pesticides or herbicides a more recent 
previous owner might have used.  How do you as a new homeowner find out 
if the soil is safe?
>
>Erica
>


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