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contaminated soil solutions
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Posted by okanagan 5b BC (My Page) on Sun, May 7, 06 at 14:19
| I wonder if there is any solution here other than bringing it to the dump?
The "soil" is sand and gravel that was under a six by ten foot garden shed. Previously this was a rental house and the shed full of trash included some spilled oil or solvent or I don't know what. It smells like a dirty driveway. There isn't visual contamination, just I can smell it. I'm almost finished cleaning up that part of my property and find I dislike the odour, though others might hardly notice it. I could move the gravel over to my gravel driveway, I guess.
I don't post in this forum generally, but I thought it seemed the logical spot to solicit thoughts on the topic. Thanks in advance for any replies.
Okanagan |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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- Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
Sun, May 7, 06 at 14:34
| Ask appropriate governmental agency, whatever that is in Canada. Transfer stations here do not accept such materials, maybe the same up there (maybe there IS a nearby hole in the ground you can truck it to, I don't know). Suspect you will be told to ameliorate the contamination yourself, where it lays. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| Thanks, I would like to ameliorate it myself. Just have no idea how. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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- Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
Mon, May 8, 06 at 2:31
| Ask appropriate agency how. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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presently dealing with this....I dismantled an old garden shed and turned the area into a garden bed last year...Hummert's 'Helpful Hints'lists
a chart for the amount of activated charcoal required to de-activate organic herbicides . I think it is sold in liquid form as well as chips....It may take awhile to put the site into (non edible) production... |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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- Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
Mon, May 8, 06 at 17:05
| That's fine if the charcoal is enough to take care of everything that is there. Lots of herbicides aren't organic, of course, and lots of different chemicals are used as herbicides. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| hello; ...d-tox flowable charcoal(from hummert)is rated to decontaminate organic pesticides,motor oil,gasoline hydrolic fluid... (there is much more information from their newsletter)...I suspect chemical spills in the shed are common...contacting the appropriate agency is good advice...I am offering a product name and source if that is the route suggested by the agency...
http://www.hummert.com/catalog.asp
>(left margin )>"Protective Equiptment" |
Here is a link that might be useful: hummert
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| Thanks for the discussion. I will check the local appropriate agency. It does make sense that such spills are not uncommon. Okanagan |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| That was fun -- not. Just thought I'd report the results. So, from "Dangerous Spills" got transferred to Environment deparment (tried that first but couldn't get through directly -- Canadian government lines are usually busy) and the solutions are few. THere is no direct general cleanup method. I could get an expensive test done, but that's not worth it for such a small amount. He said I could spread it over the property so the microbes can do their work over time. The "dispersal/dilution" concept. I won't be doing that, though! This is my organic garden not a waste remediation place! Supposedly the dump will indeed take it, but will charge a little more. The "away" concept. I guess I will simply go with my original plan, since there is no way to clean it directly. I'm going to move it to my gravel driveway, or maybe put it at the back of the property under the other huge shed that is on blocks. The "away" concept, again. One th ing I'm thankful for is that the mess was built on a plastic sheet, so almost all the gross stinky gravel and soil is isolated that way. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| ....but,I might not wish to track this in the house if you simply spread contaminated gravel out in your driveway....I guess you have options to think about,anyway... |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| Thanks for reply, pickwick. It's a huge driveway and I was thinking of putting the stuff under where the truck is. Dig out the clean stuff that I could use for another little job I have, and put this gunk there. I don't walk under the truck, because if it's gone, so am I. It might work. I was really hoping for something I could do to the stuff to bring it back to normal, but seems only time (microbes) does that. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| Okanagan, I heard about this stuff on a local call-in radio gardening show, recommended when the caller had a spill problem. It sounds sort of like what you are looking for. Annie in Austin, TX |
Here is a link that might be useful: Bioremediation products
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| Rather than being exposed to the elements, I hope you can render it fully inert, or cover completely - by using it under a concrete surface, or under a structure with a roof - perhaps where you collect rainwater for the garden, or divert it to planned irrigation, preventing any leaching of remaining toxic stuff into groundwater. Best Wishes. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| I usually don't read this forum, and I don't know anything about BC environmental regulations. Before taking contaminated soil to a dump, they must be tested to ensure compliance with their waste acceptance permits. This will mean analytical testing by an environmental laboratory. Do not re-use contaminated gravel on a driveway or any other place it can leach contaminants to surface water bodies (especially if pesticides are suspected as contaminants). Also as alluded to previously there may be issues with leaching to groundwater now that the floor and roof that were capping this site from leaching by rainwater has been removed. I would advise contacting an local environmental remediation firm for a consultation. A few soil tests or soil test kits can determine the type level of soil contaimination for comparision to applicable relevant and appropriate regulations. |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| hello isabella;.... could we begin to integrate your post with the other post on contaminated soils in sectors of New Orleans which has a high water table and surely storm run-off issues? |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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Another option is to contact Fungi Perfecti at www.fungi.com/
for remediation ideas. I've heard Paul Stamets tell some amazing stories about remediation using mushrooms and other fungi. Or see his new book, Mycelium Running. |
RE:sterilizing garden soil
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I'm probably in the wrong forum, but this seemed the most likely for an answer. For the past few years my garden has been plagued by tomato and potato blight. Someone told me the solution was to cover my raised beds with black plastic and leave it there this summer and winter and by next Spring, all the bad stuff should be gone. Does this theory hold water? I wouldn't mind giving up my garden for this year if there was some hope that my soil would be "cured" of whatever this evil blight is. I do NOT use chemicals. Any help greatly appreciated or being steered to the correct forum. Thanks so much!
Greenlydia |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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| habitat gardener,... what does your referenced site have to do about anything, really...when contaminants (from this input only) in that area should be documented,shared,and followed from the standpoint of concentrations,toxic chemical ID,potential recombinations, storm run-off issues and the movement of underground plumes by institutions that have the appropriate technology for analysis and monitoring as well as and their priviledged, professional networking with other agencies... Professional sign-offs of protocols to begin with, please...Without knowing what they are dealing with in that area, why should anyone wish to charge cash - strapped, flooded homeowners with a landscape design,let alone having to work with this soil... |
RE: contaminated soil solutions
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Attempting to interrelate this thread with another....and will make a few referenced correlations of online resources:
The USDA Handbook 674 vol.5:The Biological Component:Nursery Pests and Mycorrhiza(Thomas Landis) as well as subsequent publications (FNN) which compositely suggests to me of a series of precautions pertaining to the introduction of specific fungal isotypes/specific plants and sustained viablility and health at adequate population densities which requires modifications of one's cultural approach /pesticidal use, as well as assessing soil charasteristics at the outplanting site...Also, Horst Marschner:Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants, 2nd Edition where half of the book addresses rhizopheric relationships..."Toxicological Benchmarks for Contaminants of Potential Concern for Effects of Litter Invertibrates and Heterotrophic Processes: (Revision 1997)"(R.A. Efroymson;M.E. Will;G.W.SuterII)(for the U.S.Department of Energy) addresses the level of confindence setting threshhold limits of toxins of some chemicals based upon investigative literature of previous researchers;the accommodation of some aspect of rather lower percentages (I think) of the ability of fungal mycelium to partition some metal toxins:pdf document- plantstress.com/
I think plantstress.com/(an international,peer reviewed site) is a good starting point for continued learning adressing transolcations and accumulations of toxins within specific plants/ and rhizospheric organisms accommodating soil types,pH.specific plants and endemic microfloras and their handling of specific contaminants/concentrations....prior to any suggestion of opening one's checkbook for all I see are series of red flags and further questions....(i.e.;I don't own an expensive microscope and scientific instruments where I can ID and monitor population densities and continued viability of microflora from year to year))
...my view, anyway, but I don't really have much of a sense of the dynamics taking place... |
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