Lead Yards Freeways Waste Soil Exhaust

To Dilute Lead, Add a Bunch of Fish Bones

Today there are more lead contamination in American cities than any other federal or state could never afford to clean and carry away. While scientists and regulators are trying a new strategy, the transformation of metal into a dangerous form of the human body can not absorb, thus reducing the risk of lead poisoning.

The principle is simple, said Victor R. Johnson, a civil engineer & Environmental Consultants Inc. "The bones of fish are full of calcium phosphate," he said. "As they degrade, phosphates migrate into the soil."The lead in soil, deposited by the exhaust of the car where decades of gasoline containing lead or lead paint residue containing lead, binds with phosphate and pyromorphite transformed into a crystalline mineral that will not hurt anyone, even if it is consumed.

This alchemy was practiced in academic and commercial laboratories for over 15 years, and most recently was employed with acid-mine sites and military bases.

But now it is also coming to residential neighborhoods like South Prescott in Oakland, which this month became the first in the country where fishbone meal is being mixed into the soil for lead control under a project organized by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“It’s fair to say, looking forward, that just about every urban residential area probably has a lead problem and we just can’t afford economically and socially to move that amount of dirt any more,” said Steve Calanog, the E.P.A. official in the San Francisco office that is overseeing the project. “Topsoil is a precious resource, and we don’t have enough topsoil to replace it.”

Although the agency does not record its spending by individual contaminants, it is safe to say it has spent millions of dollars on lead cleanup. If the new techniques of neutralizing toxic metals catch on the money would go further by replacing the method of digging up and disposing of hundreds of thousands of tons of soil that has been used for more than two decades.

The effects of lead poisoning, particularly on young children’s ability to learn, have long been recognized by scientists. Yet lead remains one of the most prevalent contaminants in the country, particularly in urban areas.

The project in South Prescott, expected to cover a six-block area and cost $4 million over two years, will train up to 75 workers, many previously unemployed, in toxic cleanup methods. In this 100-year-old neighborhood of west Oakland, the average contamination levels in the soil are twice the federal limit of 400 parts per million, and some hot spots have lead levels five or six times greater, Mr. Calanog said. South Prescott was built on landfills holding the detritus of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. When the houses were built for workers at the nearby railyards, pipes and paint contained large quantities of lead. Later, trucks rumbled by on the way to the port of Oakland, and highways were built nearby.

Urban Gardening - Hyperlocavore - A free yard sharing community

I live in an area with high pollution (freeway and railroad). Does anyone have experience gardening under such conditions? I notice a lot of particulate matter when I sweep, so I am concerned about this stuff landing on something I'm going to eat. I've heard that leafy greens may not be a good thing to plant because it would be hard to wash off all the particulates. What about fruit trees? I think I could wash them, right? In that case, I'd be concerned about my soil quality (who knows how much pollutant buildup there is). I'm going to do some research on the absorption of heavy metals through the root system and if they make it into the fruits, but am hoping someone out there already knows the answer. I read that some plants pull gold out of the soil and I am sure that lead, soot and other byproducts of exhaust emissions will also be consumed by plants. I would look into acid rain effects on horticulture. Your local library should be able to provide you with a password to get on a database with reliable information. *Years ago I used to read Organic Gardening magazine. The sad reality of gardening anywhere (urban and rural), is that pretty much everything is tainted to some degree. It may be that it's not as bad as you think. However, railroads are notorious for spraying herbicides along their thoroughfares with reckless abandon. (If a little is good than alot must be better!) Whether its chemicals and pesticides in aquifers and municipalities or airborne particulates from automobiles and other industrial processes. The reality is we have to do the best with what we have. While particulates landing on food items is not great, washing them will certainly help in not consuming them directly. However, the majority of these toxins will be located in the soil, and then gathered and concentrated in the leaves of many of the plants you will eat. This can be a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing, because most "fruits" are made up mostly of water, and the majority of your produce will have minimal amounts of particulate toxicity in relation to their leafy counterparts. Contaminated leaves should be treated as waste, until their half lives are processed and dissipated through decomposition. To accelerate the process and find out what you are really dealing with... 4) Incorporate myco-remediation and vermi-composting directly into your soil. (Oyster mushroom mycelium have voracious appetites, and red worms are highly prolific.

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