[Mirri]

Hi fellow plotters,
I've just acquired a plot of land to grow some veg on, apparently it has been a veg garden for years, but has been abandoned and now full of fascinating weeds and some old gooseberry bushes. Heaven of course, but.. I'm afraid the soil might be contaminated. There's been some illegal chemicals tipped near by in a sewage pit. The reason |i discovered this is because a good lot was spilled on the road near the pit, just a few yards from my garden. Ofcourse I've reported it, but so far nothing from the environment agency, so just to find out if this tipping has any effect on my soil I was wondering if any of you guys had experience with testing, where to go and who to ask.
I'd love some advice.
kind regards
Mirri

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

Are you an RHS member?  I think they may do a soil testing service?

I assume this isn't a council allotment site?

[gremlin]

I have had very good service from NRM Labs at Bracknell.  They will do the tests, but don't interpret what the answer means.  So if you get 15,000 parts per million of chemical "xyz", is that normal or not?? 
And if it isn't normal, what can you do about it?

[ilan]

If they are illegal the the enviroment agency and the local council should be informed that the land is used for food production . They should then test it for you  do you have any clue as to what it is ? as most of these toxic wastes are well controlled

[Mirri]

Hi and thanks for the replies,
I've informed the environment agency, but will be on the blower to them again today. We're not RHS members, but I'll look into that thanks. On one of my internet searches yesterday I came across a site from a company called topsoil and on their FAQ page they had an answer about something called CLEA, which seems to be a computer program that tells you what the levels of several things are that you are allowed to have in your soil. Here's a link if that is any help to you gremlin. http://www.bstopsoil.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions
The dumping is done not on our land but just next to it, I think the bit must be owned by the water company, because their sewage pits are on it. I'll start calling them as well.
Thanks again and happy planting every one.
Mirri

[allotmentor]

It's definitely worth continuing with finding out what you have got in your soil in case it really is something that precludes growing but, as someone with a plot on an association that is quite heavily contaminated with heavy metals (see http://www.cripleymeadow.org.uk/History/Advice%20about%20contaminated%20soil.pdf) it's worth thinking about the following:

• What proportion of the toxins in the soil are actually going to be taken up by the plants you grow?
• What proportion of any toxins taken up by plants will be taken up by you?
• What proportion of your vegetable intake will be made up by what you grow in this soil?

As well as the points in that link:

• wash their hands after working on allotments
• take care not to accidentally ingest soil
• thoroughly wash and peel any produce
• do not take young children to play there where they might eat the soil

I would also add, after talking to a soil scientist friend, that organic matter is your friend as it will hold onto many toxins.
Finally, think how many people are growing on land that they have never had tested and think about all the chemicals (albeit approved) that you would ingest from eating commercially-grown (non-organic) food.