Proximity of Urban Farms to Hazards With and Without Heavy Metal Contamination in Baltimore, Maryland

Hall, Jonathan; Shargo, Isabel; Khanjar, Niya; Howard, J.N.; Schmidt, Laura; Deng, Ashley; Edwards, Camryn; Berman, Isabelle; Galarraga, Joseph; Wilson, Sacoby

doi:10.1089/env.2020.0036

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The median household income from urban garden cold spots of lead levels to hot spots of lead levels decreased from USD 75,692 to USD 38,757 in Baltimore, Maryland [31]. From cold spots to hot spots, there was a 74.9% increase in African Americans living in those areas, a 14.2% increase in unemployment, and a 29.1% increase in people depending on Maryland's Supplemental Nutrient Assistance Program [31].…”

Section: Environmental Justicementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Within cities, high levels of variation can occur between neighborhoods, backyards, or garden beds. Lead hot spots generally exist in lower-income areas and along roof drip lines, by driveways or roadsides, and wherever lead-based paint chips are present [30,31]. This is due to lead having a high spatial variability across sites, especially within residential areas due to high activity [22].…”

Section: Lead (Pb)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trace metals and metalloids such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc are commonly found in contaminated garden soils and have lasting health effects. Gardens along roof drip lines, roadsides, or near areas where lead-based paint chips, smelters, mines, current and past industries, brownfields, or superfund sites are present can lead to increased trace metal contamination in urban areas [21,30,31]. Agencies in the United States have a history of overlooking communities of color in contaminated environments [10].…”

Section: Environmental Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace Metal Contamination in Community Garden Soils across the United States

Malone,

Shakya

2024

Sustainability

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Community gardens are often seen as a means for producing sustainable food resources in urban communities. However, the presence of trace metals and metalloids such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium in urban soils poses a health risk to gardeners who participate in urban community gardens. They are exposed to these contaminates through multiple exposure pathways such as inhalation and ingestion directly through soil or through crops grown in the soil. Hot spots of soil contamination are higher in areas of cities with greater minority populations and lower incomes. This paper reviews the state of heavy metal contamination in community garden soils across the United States. This paper outlines the major sources of heavy metals in urban soils, exposure pathways, the ways to reduce heavy metal levels in garden soils, the means to slow down the uptake of heavy metals, and limit the exposure of these contaminates. The application of biochar and compost, implementing raised beds, and maintaining a natural pH are all examples of ways to mitigate heavy metal contaminants.

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Section: Environmental Justicementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Lead (Pb)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Environmental Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace Metal Contamination in Community Garden Soils across the United States

Malone,

Shakya

2024

Sustainability

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Utilization of MD EJSCREEN to Assess Health Outcomes in Baltimore, Maryland

Ravichandran,

Archer,

Aiyar

et al. 2024

Environmental Justice

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Low presence of potentially toxic elements in Singapore urban garden soils

2022

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Background Urban agriculture is potentially an important piece of the food security puzzle for a rapidly growing urban world population. Community gardening is also promoted as a safe and viable form of exercise for aging populations in crowded settings where opportunities to participate in other action activities may be limited. Knowledge of potential site-specific health risks to environmental contaminants is important in dialogues promoting urban farming. Methods We assess the pseudo-total concentrations of selected potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the soils of community gardens, public parks, and woodlands in the tropical urban island nation of Singapore. We compare concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc with amalgamated risk guidelines to form a baseline understanding of the level of contamination in these spaces. We also perform providence tracking with lead isotopes to identify potential sources of contaminants. Results All pseudo-total concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the soil were below threshold concentrations considered to represent substantial risk. Further, PTE concentrations in gardens were largely equivalent to those found in community parks and woodlands, but the geographical distribution varied. Provenance tracking with Pb isotopes indicated Pb in gardens was both anthropogenic and natural, but spatially variable. The lack of strong spatial clustering of areas with the highest PTE concentrations was inconsistent with a common point source of contamination. However, the correlation between Cu and Zn suggest a common source for these elements, such as road/trafficking or atmospheric deposition. Conclusion We find limited risk of urban gardeners to exposure to Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn—elements that are commonly abundant in urban settings with dense transportation networks and substantial industrial activities. The low levels of PTEs are encouraging for the promotion of urban farming for food production and leisure in this dense urban setting. However, as concentrations were low, we did not assess bioavailability and bioaccessibility of the PTEs. These assessments would need to be determined in cases of with higher levels of contamination to provide a more thorough consideration of actual human risk.

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Proximity of Urban Farms to Hazards With and Without Heavy Metal Contamination in Baltimore, Maryland

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

Trace Metal Contamination in Community Garden Soils across the United States

Trace Metal Contamination in Community Garden Soils across the United States

Utilization of MD EJSCREEN to Assess Health Outcomes in Baltimore, Maryland

Low presence of potentially toxic elements in Singapore urban garden soils

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