Can the chemicals in the soil and groundwater affect the vegetables in our gardens?
Most garden plants rely on rain for their water needs. Their root systems are not extensive enough to reach groundwater in most places. Contamination of food plants is most likely to occur through contamination in the soil or in irrigation water. The questioner uses municipal water on the garden, which eliminates that possible route for contamination. There is no information on whether the soil in residential areas of the site study area is contaminated; however, the soil at the “Cyanide Destruction” facility is contaminated with various metals. Some contamination from the facility may have migrated to neighboring residential yards, including that of the questioner. Of the metals found in the soil of the facility, enough cadmium is known to be taken up by plants such that the concentration in the plants could reach a potentially hazardous level. The baseline risk assessment includes estimations of the health risk from eating plants that had grown in soil at the site. MDCH accepts this
