Examining Atmospheric and Soil Contamination in Urban Community Gardens

该项目研究了大气沉积和土壤中的微量元素(如砷、铅等)污染城市社区花园(UCG)中的土壤和蔬菜的空间变异性和程度。这是令人担忧的，因为潜在的公共卫生后果。到目前为止，UCG中的空气污染和土壤污染问题一直没有得到充分的研究，但UCG激增，并被誉为解决食物获取和城市可持续发展问题的一种手段。这项调查促进了对人类-环境相互作用和城市政治生态理论的理解，因为需要对城市空气污染、土壤和园艺之间的关系进行批判性评估，才能使其具有普遍相关的积极结果。如果空气或土壤中的微量元素来源是UCG污染的重要来源，那么对学术、政策和城市园林的推广都有潜在的影响。除了产生关于UCG中大气和土壤污染程度以及污染途径的公共卫生影响的新知识外，该项目还包括为园丁，特别是来自代表性不足群体的参与者提供教育和培训机会。这项研究还扩大了城市花园污染研究的学术多样性，并在建设性地提高认识、传播有效的预防策略以及提供园丁通常无法获得的数据方面获得了社会效益。该项目的目的是评估在城市社区花园中，与其他最接近的污染源、土壤中的微量元素(砷、镉、汞、镍和铅)和园艺投入相比，大量大气沉降的重要性。该项目系统地评估了大气沉积在城市社区花园中与微量元素污染有关的作用。这项调查是在纽约市的UCG样本中进行的，在那里，PI将对每个UCG的地点进行档案研究，以发展土地使用历史。同时，他们将进行土壤调查，以评估微量元素的空间变异性，并确定具有代表性的土壤和作物采样点。将对园艺投入、蔬菜和土壤进行采样和微量元素浓度分析。将在多个深度对土壤进行采样，并分析影响微量元素流动性的变量。抽样的部分蔬菜将在行盖下种植，以识别大气沉积以外的其他变量。将建立飞盘式漏斗瓶散装收集器，并在一年内每月采样，收集大气流入数据，并将其与城市空气质量信息进行比较。预计这些发现将被转移到其他有制造历史、几十年来依赖化石燃料运输的大城市的UCG。通过该项目开发的技术也普遍适用于农村和小城市。因此，尽管这项研究项目将重点放在城市社区花园的大气沉积上，但这项研究将为美国和许多其他国家的城市地区处理食品生产和污染问题提供新的见解和方法。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines the spatial variability of and degree to which atmospheric deposition and/or trace elements in the soil such as arsenic, lead, and others, contaminate soils and vegetables grown in urban community gardens (UCGs). This is of concern because of the potential public health consequences. To date issues of air pollution and soil contamination in UCGs have been understudied, yet UCGs proliferate, and have been lauded as a means of addressing questions of food access and urban sustainability. This investigation advances the understanding of human-environmental interactions and urban political ecology theory as the relationship between air pollution, soils, and gardening in cities needs to be critically evaluated for it to have the positive outcomes generally associated with it. If airborne or soil trace element sources are significant in UCG contamination, then there are potential repercussions in scholarship, policy, and the promotion of urban gardens. As well as generating new knowledge with public health ramifications about the degree to which there is atmospheric and soil contamination in UCGs, and the contamination pathways, the project includes educational and training opportunities for gardeners, especially participants from under-represented groups. The research also broadens scholarly diversity in urban garden contamination research, and derives societal benefits in raising awareness constructively, spreading effective preventive strategies, and providing data typically beyond gardeners' reach. The project's aim is to evaluate the importance of bulk atmospheric deposition compared to other proximate contaminant sources, trace elements in the soil (arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel, and lead) and gardening inputs, in urban community gardens. The project systematically assesses the role of atmospheric deposition in relation to trace element contamination in urban community gardens. The investigation takes place in a sample of UCGs in New York City, where the PIs will conduct archival research about the site of each of the UCGs to develop a land-use history. In tandem they will conduct soil surveys to assess the spatial variability of trace element and determine representative soil and crop sampling points. Gardening inputs, vegetables, and soils will be sampled and analyzed for trace element concentrations. Soils will be sampled at multiple depths and analyzed for variables affecting trace element mobility. Part of the vegetables sampled will be grown under row cover to discern variables other than atmospheric deposition. Frisbee-type funnel-bottle bulk collectors will be set up and sampled monthly for a year to gather atmospheric influx data which will be compared to city air quality information. Findings are expected to be transferable to UCGs in other large cities with manufacturing histories and with decades of reliance on fossil-fuel based transport. The techniques developed through this project are also generally applicable to rural areas and small cities. Therefore, although this research project will focus on atmospheric deposition in urban community gardens, the research will provide new insights and approaches for dealing with food production and contamination problems in urban areas in the United States and many other countries.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.