coal ash dumped on garden

[lyndapet]

i can not understand the concern here in durham our allotment is on what used to be the old pit site and everything grows beautifully.


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[Bill HH]

People deliberately add coal ash and soot to gardens, lots of potash and carbon etc. i wouldnt worry to much about the Americans they are a bunch of hypocondriacs on the one hand they stuff their faces with 12 inch high burgers and GM food whilst on the other hand they ban creocote because a rat in Wisconsin that was force fed ten gallons of it got cancer. Perhaps he is worried that the sheep dip he has been illegaly emptying onto it for years will kill you, in which case he is right. Incidentaly if you are American then substitue the word American for Nbongoleaseian.

[caliandris]

Coal ash contains heavy metals, and that's why people are worried about it. It can also contain a lot of arsenic. Unfortunately, plants seem to love the stuff, and so the fact that you have flourishing plants is not an indication that they are safe to eat. I am interested in the subject because I have moved to a house where the vegetable garden seems to have a lot of ash in it, and I know the previous owners burned coal in their grate.

If you have a lot of coal ash on your garden, you probably need to investigate. People say that this or that has never done them any harm... unfortunately the sort of harm which heavy metals and the sorts of toxic contaminants in coal ash are likely to contain is long-term, cumulative, and likely to affect children far more than adults.

The advice I have been given is to remove 18 inches of soil, replace it, and then use raised beds to make quite sure things aren't growing into contaminated land.

[Bigmallly]

18" sounds a bit extreme to me when most veg grow in approx 6" soil with the exception of carrots & parsnips...............and tatties of course.

[Thelma Sanders]

The advice I have been given is to remove 18 inches of soil, replace it, and then use raised beds to make quite sure things aren't growing into contaminated land.

Who gave you that advice?

[Greenleaves]

There are indeed trace elements of heavy metals in coal ash but then again they is in normal soil. If we were talking about the bottom ash from a power station I might be concerned but just as many heavy metals are release in fly ash ( small particals released into the atmosphere via the chimney). In fact bottom ash is used to make Celcon building blocks.

To remove the soil does not mean you have done any benefit and land remediation is the most expensive environmental option. All the soil will need to be tested and if contaminated disposed of via a hazardous waste handler, you cant just put it in a skip.
If you have a genuine concern contact the local authority who are responsble for managing the Contaminated Land Regs 2006.