Testing soil fertility is a good idea for any grower (see  http://www.clemson.edu/agsrvlb/interest.htm to learn how). But sites with potential pollutants call for special testing. To follow is documentation of our 2006 soil testing at the Edisto Court Community Garden.

The types of contaminants you might want to test for depend on the history of and possible risks at your site, as well as the concerns of stakeholders. (Check the phone book for private labs in your area; two labs in Columbia are Shealy Labs and Data Resources Inc.). In 2006 I sought out labs to test the soil at the Edisto Court Community Garden for heavy metals due to proximity of a former auto paint shop and concerns of residents; radioactive isotopes due to the former proximity of Interstate Laundry, or Unitech (a laundering service for nuclear processing facilities) and concerns of residents and Carolina Peace Board members; and organic contaminants common in cleaning solvents due to proximity of Unitech and concerns of some analysts I approached.

All three types of tests found levels to be in range and hence not a contamination threat. Reports from those tests follow below. We are grateful to Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson, Dr. Scott Goode, and and Dr. Bruce Watt for making available their expertise, time, and lab equipment in service to this project. Thanks also to T. Shaw, and Dr. W.E. Cotham (USC Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry), Dr. M. Aelion (USC Environmental Health Sciences), K. Tappa (DHEC), and Dr. G. Geidel (USC School of the Environment) for generous meetings, consultation, and referrals for the soil testing.

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Associate Professor
Undergraduate Director, Marine Science Program
Department of Geological Sciences
University of South Carolina

"The soil was tested for gamma emitting radioactive isotopes, 238U and 137Cs, common contaminants associated with nuclear processing. Concentrations of these elements within the soil were at background; no elevated activities indicative of contamination were measurable.

Actual activities in dpm/gram:
210Pb 0.94
234Th 0.85 (238U direct daughter)
226Ra 0.80
228Ra 0.76
228Th 0.74
137Cs below detection

All are very typical of "natural" or background sandy sediments."

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Heavy Metal Analysis:

Dr. Scott R. Goode

Professor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of South Carolina

barium

beryllium

cadmium

copper

lead
antimony

were found to be 1/1000 of the EPA limits.

*Chromium was found at about 5 ppm in all the soils, but according to the EPA ranges from 1 to 2,000 ppm with an average of 54 ppm. No other element even made the radar screen. The soil samples can be pronounced free of heavy metal contamination.

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Organic Analysis:

Dr. Bruce Watt

Data Resources Inc.

SAMPLE ID: 060829X003-01            SITE: Sample # 1 
COLLECTED: 2006-08-24 16:00:00.000   TENTATIVE COST: 0.00
TEST: 5030-5035/8260 Analytes by GC/MS for RCRA
PARAMETER             RESULT      RDL    UNITS       ANALYSIS DT
ANALYST
(Surr) 1,2-Dichloroe  113         0      %           2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
(Surr) 4-Bromofluoro  119         0      %           2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
(Surr) Dibromofluoro  111         0      %           2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
(Surr) Toluene-d8     113         0      %           2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
Benzene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
m-&p-Xylene           BDL         50     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
o-Xylene              BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
Tetrachloroethene     BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
Toluene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
Trichloroethene       BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:11 bcarpenter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAMPLE ID: 060829X003-02            SITE: Sample # 2 
COLLECTED: 2006-08-24 16:10:00.000   TENTATIVE COST: 0.00
TEST: 5030-5035/8260 Analytes by GC/MS for RCRA
PARAMETER             RESULT      RDL    UNITS       ANALYSIS DT
ANALYST
(Surr) 1,2-Dichloroe  92          0      %           2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
(Surr) 4-Bromofluoro  104         0      %           2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
(Surr) Dibromofluoro  90          0      %           2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
(Surr) Toluene-d8     86          0      %           2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
Benzene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
m-&p-Xylene           BDL         50     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
o-Xylene              BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
Tetrachloroethene     BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
Toluene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
Trichloroethene       BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
16:44 bcarpenter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAMPLE ID: 060829X003-03            SITE: Sample # 3 
COLLECTED: 2006-08-24 16:20:00.000   TENTATIVE COST: 0.00
TEST: 5030-5035/8260 Analytes by GC/MS for RCRA
PARAMETER             RESULT      RDL    UNITS       ANALYSIS DT
ANALYST
(Surr) 1,2-Dichloroe  103         0      %           2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
(Surr) 4-Bromofluoro  119         0      %           2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
(Surr) Dibromofluoro  99          0      %           2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
(Surr) Toluene-d8     93          0      %           2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
Benzene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
m-&p-Xylene           BDL         50     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
o-Xylene              BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
Tetrachloroethene     BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
Toluene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
Trichloroethene       BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:17 bcarpenter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAMPLE ID: 060829X003-04            SITE: Sample # 4 
COLLECTED: 2006-08-24 16:30:00.000   TENTATIVE COST: 0.00
TEST: 5030-5035/8260 Analytes by GC/MS for RCRA
PARAMETER             RESULT      RDL    UNITS       ANALYSIS DT
ANALYST
(Surr) 1,2-Dichloroe  90          0      %           2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
(Surr) 4-Bromofluoro  100         0      %           2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
(Surr) Dibromofluoro  89          0      %           2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
(Surr) Toluene-d8     89          0      %           2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
Benzene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
m-&p-Xylene           BDL         50     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
o-Xylene              BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
Tetrachloroethene     BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
Toluene               BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter
Trichloroethene       BDL         25     ug/Kg       2006-09-06
17:50 bcarpenter

A Common Ground volunteer compared these findings to

EPA soil guidelines and found them to be in range and hence not a contamination threat.