Category: Uncategorized
Roadblocks to Urban Agriculture (Repost)
Recently, a local news outlet covered the work of researchers from U. of Illinois about the challenges of urban agriculture. Click here for the full article from the Journal Gazette & Times-Courier (Matoon, IL).
The citation to their work is below:
“Environmental Challenges Threatening the Growth of Urban Agriculture in the United States,” S. E. Wortman and S.T. Lovell. J. Environ. Qual. 42:1283–1294 2013. Accessible online (with subscription) at https://www.agronomy.org/publications/jeq/pdfs/42/5/1283
Science Gardener Collaborative at SETAC in November
The Science Gardener Collaborative will be presenting at the 34th Annual Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Nashville, TN.
Upcoming: "Relative contribution of lead via inhalation of soil particulate matter to gardener’s lead exposure" Poster session presented at Communities, Ecology, and Health: Making the Connection. 34th Annual Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; Nashville, TN. Nov 17-21, 2013. Presented by: J. Tabony, and W.J. Heiger-Bernays, Dept of Environmmental Health, BU School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Abstract: Gardening and farming in urban settings has risen in popularity in Boston, as the city has seen an increase in community gardens and urban farms in the past years. However, due to the historic use of lead-based paint and leaded gasoline, lead is ubiquitous in many urban soils, posing a potential risk to human health. Lead exposures in utero and to the young child can result in adverse effects on neurocognition, measured as learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. Evidence of older child and adult lead exposures can result in adverse effects on several organ systems, including the central nervous, gastrointestinal, reproduction and renal systems.
Science Gardener Collaborative at APHA Boston in November
We have two posters at the APHA Conference this year. Here are the titles and corresponding abstracts.
"Dirty Garden Soil: Practice Steps for Cleaner Backyard and Community Gardens" 141st American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Boston, MA. November 5, 2013 presented by: W. J. Heiger-Bernays, P. Barrett, B. Kim, J. Tabony, Dept of Environmmental Health, BU School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Abstract: Community and backyard gardens created in residential areas provide people with opportunities to improve the overall quality of their lives. These gardens are often located on property with soil contaminated by lead, arsenic and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from decades of human activity. Unacceptable human health risks, especially for children and pregnant women, can result from exposure to soil contaminants through ingestion, inhalation and dermal routes. Risks from contaminated urban soils can be controlled using a set of Best Management Practices (BMPs) based on research and methods from academic institutions, state and federal agencies, and international environmental science experts. More
