Potential for contaminant transfer from urban soils will be discussed using three urban garden sites located in Kansas City, Missouri; Tacoma, Washington and Indianapolis, IN as examples. These sites had elevated levels of lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Suitable safety/corrective measures were implemented after thorough evaluation of soil properties.  Field test plots were established, and three crop types with three very different growth and contaminant uptake patterns were planted.  Measures focused on reducing both direct (soil-human) and indirect (soil-plant-human) exposure of Pb, As and/or PAHs to the gardeners and their children.  Effectiveness of selected site-specific soil amendments to reduce plant availability of Pb, As and/or PAHs was evaluated.  Different methodologies were being utilized to understand the significance of potential soil-plant-human exposure pathway of contaminants. Efforts were also made to understand relationships between contaminant speciation and contaminant bioaccessibility.

Potential for transfer of lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from amended urban soils to vegetables and humans

246th National Meeting (2013)

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