6 ms·

Ask HN: Should I test my garden for lead?

19 points by pkdpic 4y ago

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are and what method of testing tech savvy people might have used.

Stoneflyx 4y ago
Your local county extension agency likely provides a free soil test and can speak to your lead concerns.
- pkdpic 4y ago
  Thank you so much I wouldn't have thought about looking into a county / city provided kit!
spaceisballer 4y ago
If you do regular gardening you should just do a test anyway. University of Delaware has a kit I do every other year and gives plenty of data plus a plan (in my case for helping with my grass, but there are options for gardens).
- pkdpic 4y ago
  Fantastic! Thank you for the tip on the university kit : )
- sphars 4y ago
  Thanks for the heads up about universities providing soil testing. Found out that my local agricultural university (Utah State University) offers this too.
toomuchtodo 4y ago
Definitely if you’re near an airport that has piston engine aircraft operating out of it (they burn 100LL leaded fuel).
- pkdpic 4y ago
  Oh thats a super good point, I wouldn't have thought about that.
jhpaul 4y ago
The soil at my former house (built around 1920) on a major street in a large college town, next to a bus stop, tested for significantly elevated lead and PCBs. I believe the soil on the other side of the building tested much closer to normal for the area. I would test if there is even the slightest concern of contamination. Eating a few garden veggies here and there likely won't have much of an impact on an adult. If you're regularly supplementing your meals and/or feeding children, you may want to be more cautious. At my current house on a busier, older street, I wouldn't consider eating anything grown in the soil. Most near me seem to use raised beds or the community garden.
- pkdpic 4y ago
  Yeah our house is like 1916 I think and close to a super busy road. I wouldn't have thought about the other side being safer though. Im definitely going to test both.
jjmellon 4y ago
If your garden is in the front yard of a house located close to a busy street in an old neighborhood, maybe so (not sure of the risk). But in the U.S., cars manufactured after 1975 used unleaded gas, and leaded gas was no longer sold after 1995. So I would think that in any subdivision built after 1975, the risk of lead in the soil caused by car emissions is very low. If any kind of industrial facility was previously on your land, you should test for more than lead.
- pkdpic 4y ago
  Really glad people pointed out the front / back yard thing. Our place is like 1916 so yeah...
smackeyacky 4y ago
Don't forget about lead paint. Any wooden house of age has likely been painted every 10 to 20 years, the paint chips scraped off during the preparation work can be a significant source of lead, especially close to the building.
- pkdpic 4y ago
  Yeah we've definitely got the paint thing to test too :/
giantg2 4y ago
Probably not, unless you think your property has some contamination. If it's really bothering you the tests are cheap, or possibly free through an extension.
gcheong 4y ago
This may put your mind at ease or at least help you determine how to mitigate any risk https://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/02/risk-of-lead-poisoning-from-urban-gardening-is-low-new-study-finds/ https://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/02/risk-of-lead-pois...
paulcole 4y ago
If I was really excited about gardening, I probably wouldn’t. Probably not that huge of a deal and I wouldn’t want to deal with it if I knew.
- sloaken 4y ago
  Completely disagree. Lead is very bad for people. See wikipedia for details: tetraethyl. The guy who made it Thomas Midgley Jr., even got lead poisoning.
  - eimrine 4y ago
    Somebody is excited on farming more then excited on searching for lead. Not to mention you can spend your money and time on something more useful for your garden (but if all other problems has solved so why not to test for lead).
  - paulcole 4y ago
    Counterpoint: Lots of things are very bad for people and we don’t think about most of them. Why give yourself one more thing to stress out about?
    - meristohm 4y ago
      > Why give yourself one more thing to stress out about? Because this is something we have some control over. Like trans-fats, no amount of lead is healthy (it can take the place of Zn and other elements in our bodies, and is especially harmful for young animals as they make foundational cells). If I want to grow food for my family (which includes a young human animal), I want the soil to be healthy enough (whatever we decide that is). If the soil that is present isn't healthy enough, I can import better soil (and contribute to it over time with compost from our kitchen). I agree with you about the importance of not adding stressors, with the specification: don't add stress about things I can't control. For things we collectively have some control over I lobby my representatives, make comments on HN, and otherwise try to let it go.
      - 4y ago

19 points by pkdpic 4y ago

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are and what method of testing tech savvy people might have used.

Stoneflyx 4y ago

Your local county extension agency likely provides a free soil test and can speak to your lead concerns.

pkdpic 4y ago
Thank you so much I wouldn't have thought about looking into a county / city provided kit!

spaceisballer 4y ago

If you do regular gardening you should just do a test anyway. University of Delaware has a kit I do every other year and gives plenty of data plus a plan (in my case for helping with my grass, but there are options for gardens).

pkdpic 4y ago
Fantastic! Thank you for the tip on the university kit : )
sphars 4y ago
Thanks for the heads up about universities providing soil testing. Found out that my local agricultural university (Utah State University) offers this too.

toomuchtodo 4y ago

Definitely if you’re near an airport that has piston engine aircraft operating out of it (they burn 100LL leaded fuel).

pkdpic 4y ago
Oh thats a super good point, I wouldn't have thought about that.

jhpaul 4y ago

The soil at my former house (built around 1920) on a major street in a large college town, next to a bus stop, tested for significantly elevated lead and PCBs. I believe the soil on the other side of the building tested much closer to normal for the area. I would test if there is even the slightest concern of contamination. Eating a few garden veggies here and there likely won't have much of an impact on an adult. If you're regularly supplementing your meals and/or feeding children, you may want to be more cautious. At my current house on a busier, older street, I wouldn't consider eating anything grown in the soil. Most near me seem to use raised beds or the community garden.

pkdpic 4y ago
Yeah our house is like 1916 I think and close to a super busy road. I wouldn't have thought about the other side being safer though. Im definitely going to test both.

jjmellon 4y ago

If your garden is in the front yard of a house located close to a busy street in an old neighborhood, maybe so (not sure of the risk). But in the U.S., cars manufactured after 1975 used unleaded gas, and leaded gas was no longer sold after 1995. So I would think that in any subdivision built after 1975, the risk of lead in the soil caused by car emissions is very low. If any kind of industrial facility was previously on your land, you should test for more than lead.

pkdpic 4y ago
Really glad people pointed out the front / back yard thing. Our place is like 1916 so yeah...

smackeyacky 4y ago

Don't forget about lead paint. Any wooden house of age has likely been painted every 10 to 20 years, the paint chips scraped off during the preparation work can be a significant source of lead, especially close to the building.

pkdpic 4y ago
Yeah we've definitely got the paint thing to test too :/

giantg2 4y ago

Probably not, unless you think your property has some contamination. If it's really bothering you the tests are cheap, or possibly free through an extension.

gcheong 4y ago

This may put your mind at ease or at least help you determine how to mitigate any risk https://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/02/risk-of-lead-poisoning-from-urban-gardening-is-low-new-study-finds/ https://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/02/risk-of-lead-pois...

paulcole 4y ago

If I was really excited about gardening, I probably wouldn’t. Probably not that huge of a deal and I wouldn’t want to deal with it if I knew.

sloaken 4y ago
Completely disagree. Lead is very bad for people. See wikipedia for details: tetraethyl. The guy who made it Thomas Midgley Jr., even got lead poisoning.
- eimrine 4y ago
  Somebody is excited on farming more then excited on searching for lead. Not to mention you can spend your money and time on something more useful for your garden (but if all other problems has solved so why not to test for lead).
- paulcole 4y ago
  Counterpoint: Lots of things are very bad for people and we don’t think about most of them. Why give yourself one more thing to stress out about?
  - meristohm 4y ago
    > Why give yourself one more thing to stress out about? Because this is something we have some control over. Like trans-fats, no amount of lead is healthy (it can take the place of Zn and other elements in our bodies, and is especially harmful for young animals as they make foundational cells). If I want to grow food for my family (which includes a young human animal), I want the soil to be healthy enough (whatever we decide that is). If the soil that is present isn't healthy enough, I can import better soil (and contribute to it over time with compost from our kitchen). I agree with you about the importance of not adding stressors, with the specification: don't add stress about things I can't control. For things we collectively have some control over I lobby my representatives, make comments on HN, and otherwise try to let it go.
    - 4y ago