A Different Kind of Soil Test

Last Saturday I attended the Sierra Club's annual Community Environmental Conference. The conference was packed with interesting sessions on topics related to how human activities and choices affect our environment and often endanger the our planet. Among other things, I learned about mountaintop removal to mine coal in West Virginia and how it not only destroys the beauty of the land but also contaminates drinking water distant from the removal site. I also learned some frightening things about nuclear waste disposal, including, the fact that Tennessee received or produced at least 75% of the nation's low level radioactive waste, as well as radioactive waste shipped here from Germany. Did you know that the only facility in the nation where radioactive steam generators from pressurized water reactors are taken for processing is right here on President's Island? 

Like most conferences, this one included a number of vendors. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was conducting a soilSHOP, (the name stands for Soil, Screening, Health, Outreach and Partnership), and they were testing soil. No, not the kind of soil test that we gardeners usually think of but tests for lead and other nasty things we definitely don't like to think about being in our gardens, especially our vegetable gardens. They were also talking about safe gardening practices as they relate to soil contaminants.

Unfortunately, I did not know about the soil testing before I arrived at the conference so I did not have a sample to be tested. But I learned that lead and other chemical elements we fear are found in all soil but the important question is to what degree. Apparently, these chemicals do not readily move from the soil into plant tissue (this varies somewhat depending on the type of plant), and the greatest danger is the contaminated soil itself. I asked one of the gentleman working at the booth if they had other events planned for the Memphis area and he indicated they did not but could possibly set up one if there was sufficient interest. 

This made me think about what a great thing this would be to offer to local gardeners at a venue like Spring Fling.  Many of us are growing a few vegetables in flowerbeds and who knows what chemical elements are in there . . . ? And this may be even more relevant to community gardeners and school gardeners, who may be growing plants in soils previously used for commercial or industrial purposes.

Click here to find out more about this agency and soil contaminants.