Subject: Lead contamination�������

From: [email-masked] (Jim Mcnelly)
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 1994 02:10:00 +0600

A> In Article <[email-masked]>,
A> [email-masked] (Jim Mcnelly) wrote: ...(deleted)... >
A> >Lead, as I understand it, is not uptaken by leaves, stems, or
A> fruits, >or for that matter, most plants. Its problem is associated
A> with the >soil itself, meaning that it attaches itself to roots,
A> which are then >ingested. It is also a problem with the "pica"
A> phenomenon of children

A> If this is the case, wouldn't washing remove most of the lead from
A> root crops? Tracy

Yes, Tracy,

Washing and scrubbing root vegetables will remove the soil, and hence 
the lead. From an EPA perspective, as I have read some of the 
background "statements of need and reasonableness" regarding the 
impacts of priority pollutants in the soil, the decision to set lead 
limits is based on the "Most Effected Individual" (MEI)

As such lead limits do not take into consideration soil pH, the crop 
raised, the likelihood of children eating the soil, or whether or not 
root crops are washed. They assume that all land application sites 
share risk to a greater or lesser degree. The MEI for cadmium, for 
example, would be a two pack a day cigarette smoker (#1 source of 
"natural" cadmium ingestion) who was a vegetarian who ate exclusively 
>from  his own garden, and then mostly leafy vegetables, who also 
applied cadmium laden sludge on his garden every year at three times 
the recommended rate for a period of thirty years. We are talking 
about extreme cases.

They do, however, provide for several standards and Parts Per million, 
levels depending on the proposed end use. But in the case of the 
person who was describing a community garden, the Class A standards 
for unrestricted use would apply.

It is not likely that a community garden would be able to keep 
children from playing in the soil or that the users of the garden 
would thoroughly wash their root vegetables, even if there were an 
educational campaign.

Given the fact that we know little of where our food is grown, it is a 
wise practice to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before 
eating them.

Mr Compost~~~

Jim~ McNelly
[email-masked]

 * RM 1.3 02460 * Mammals eating dinosaur eggs.

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