Saint John, N.B., residents and community organizations with gardens have been given guidance from the American Iron and Metal fire task force this week, urging them to freeze or toss food items grown in soil possibly impacted by the chemically contaminated smoke.
Dr. Kim Barker, the regional chief medical officer of health, said a consulting group will begin to take soil samples from at least seven community gardens, possibly 10.
Environment Canada provided a plume map that the task force and the consultations are using to choose the gardens subject to testing.
“Any of these contaminants will be there over the coming weeks and potentially months and that’s why we’re really doing our due diligence,” Barker said in an interview on Monday.
The samples will be used as a litmus test for what chemicals may have been in the air during the 48-hour period the fire burned.
The consultants will also use control gardens, not included in the plume map, to rule out any contaminants that may have already been there.
“But the plume, because it contains heavy chemicals, the heavy chemicals will sink,” Barker said in an interview. “It’s those chemicals that sink that are really, in a matter of words, almost a litmus test for us to see, OK if that’s in the soil, that’s what people were potentially breathing in, but most importantly, if that’s in the soil, these are the chemicals we are most concerned about ensuring people will not go on to swallow.”
The samples will look for many chemicals and contaminants, like mercury and lead, and also heavy organic carbons, like benzine.
Barker said the task force and public health understand the pressure there is to provide answers about the risks to food sources and public health but the process will take time.
“People want to know, that’s legitimate.… It’s more we want to make sure we’re absolutely selecting the right sites, the right controls … the right toxins, but also means we have the right collection bottles,” she said of the process. “That’s why this time delay, whilst an incredible inconvenience to a lot of people, it’s unfortunately the reality if we want to do the right job.”
At Crescent Valley Resource Centre, there have been no samples taken yet, but executive director Anne Driscoll said the fire was obvious from where the organization is located on MacLaren Drive.
“The air was so thick,” she said in an interview Monday. “It was choking, it was really awful.”
The centre is home to The Growing Place – a community garden that feeds families in need, many of them newcomer families.
There are 46 beds outside, a few of which are used to plant food for the food bank in the city’s north end. There is also a covered greenhouse and public space.
“Our concern is the soil,” she said. “Our concern is, should we be eating these things? Do we need to remove the soil and put new soil in for next year? What do we do with the compost? And gosh, what do we do with such a waste of food?”
She said those questions have swirled since the fire, and it would be a significant financial setback for the resource centre to need to replace the soil beds completely for all 46 outside.
“It’s really a tragedy,” Driscoll said.
Another issue for the centre is the level of English of many newcomer families.
“They may not be aware; their ability to read English is lower than yours or mine, so they’re not getting that information and they aren’t aware of it,” she said.
The task force did submit some advice late Friday.
“A consultant has been retained to conduct soil sampling from several community gardens in Saint John and the surrounding area. This work will be overseen by the Department of Environment and Local Government and the Department of Health,” a release said.
It advised those with gardens:
- Anyone choosing to harvest garden crops should wash them well and keep them frozen until test results are available. Alternatively, these crops could be discarded into regular garbage.
- People choosing to compost garden crops or soil should consider keeping them separate from existing compost until test results are available.
- People should wash their hands thoroughly after handling crops or soil.
“The same recommendations apply to private gardens,” it went on to read. “These are recommendations only and should be considered voluntary until otherwise directed.”
The department said there is no definitive timeline for the testing process.
Comments