Removing lead from backyard

Well I may not be able to help you much here. I built our platform deck myself and hired a company to do that patio who I ultimately was unhappy with and will not recommend. Regarding the grading and runoff, one suggestion might be to keep the section near the house the same level, possibly just paving it and putting in a french drain to deal with any water issues, and then step up to a patio 6 or 8 feet from the house, graded towards the back of the yard.

bliz

in General Discussion 8 years and 1 month ago

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yesbrooklyn | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Has anyone removed lead from a backyard before? I want to get the first 6 inches up and out and want to pay a professional to do this. Then we’ll continue with landscaping plans but first things first. Any recommendations welcome! Thanks!

BobMarvin | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Aren’t there plants that will absorb lead and other contaminants? Couls someone who’s a better gardener than me chime in?

EJR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I thought it’s essentially a no-go to plant anything you plan to eat in NYC soil due to lead contamination and that there’s little than can be done to remediate this. This is why everyone uses raised beds for edible plants.

slopegirl | 8 years and 2 months ago

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really EJR, I never knew this… how do you know if you have lead in your soil?

slopefarm | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I’ve heard that, too. Raised beds and planters for edibles. Getting the top layer of soil out to reduce lead risk is a good thing to do for the sake of children playing in the back yard. Do your own research but i believe the lead doesn’t sink or travel much, which is why getting rid of top layer and using raised beds is sufficient.

FYI – we didn’t test the soil. We just assumed because tons of old materials from a prior renovation sat in the back yard for over a year before we closed, presumably with some lead paint on it. Just figured all sorts of nasty stuff leeched into soil.

jodie1028 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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We had a lead problem and it was recommended to put 3″ of topsoil down then sod. That’s what we did, but we still plant edibles in containers. Safe for the kids to play though.

catboot | 8 years and 2 months ago

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You can have your soil tested at Brooklyn College. http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/academics/centers/esac/services/soil.php

camp6ell | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Take a few different samples from disparate areas and depths if you are getting it tested to make sure you have a fair representation.

jahmel1018 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Paint has been flaking off the house for 100+ years…… all soil near the base of the house must be heavily contaminated with lead. Edible vegetables should be grown in pots or raised beds with the soil brought or bought from elsewhere. If young children play near the back of the house the area should be covered with new soil or gravel or concrete…. slate… etc. after the back wall of the house is repainted or stripped or whatever… pretty much equivalent to the treatment of lead inside the house……. i.e. remove and/or cover completely.

IMBY | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Very little lead is absorbed by the “fruits” of the plant. You can grow tomatoes in highly contaminated soil without fear of lead poisoning. The danger and harm is the soil itself so when kids accidentally or purposefully ingest the soil they are 5 times more likely than adults to absorb it into their bloodstreams and brains causing permanent damage. You don’t mention kids so unless you suffer from adult eating disorders like pica there is little danger to adults. Removing that much soil seems like overkill and a waste of money. Most of the lead in urban soil came from automobile exhaust from when gas was leaded. If you plan on gardening i would be more worried about the toxins left behind by trash pandas and plasmatic cats.

bliz | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I live in Ft Greene and we had our soil tested last year. The tests showed extremely high levels of lead and arsenic in the soil and we were told that all of North Brooklyn has high levels of lead in the soil. We have a youngster and discussed with the person who tested the soil what measures we should take to deal with it. First of all she told us that the real danger is not from eating the lead soil, it’s breathing it in from dusting, including tracking it into the house, getting it on your clothes, etc. But she told us that lead in soil doesn’t migrate so long as it’s not disturbed, so you can simply start covering it up with layers of fill. Suggestions included layering hay, then layering clean dirt or compost, then laying sod down on top. So you do not have to excavate to any depth if you don’t want to. I would suggest that if you do decide to excavate, you try to get it out of your yard without bringing it through your house, or if you do bring it through your house you devise some kind of double bagging scenario to keep it from getting in the house.

Our solution was to first put down landscaping fabric and build a platform deck over part of the yard, which did include some excavation where we carried out through an adjacent lot, and then to have a patio put down over the rest of the yard. The patio was on top of what was already there so we didn’t have to spend a lot of energy and money on carrying dirt around. When we did move dirt we found it most efficient to bag it in sandbags because they were easy to stack and carry.

If you’re in North Brooklyn I would assume your soil is bad, but if you want to test then Brooklyn College does it, and we got ours tested at the Williamsburg farmers market when Brooklyn College had someone there testing soil, so maybe they will have someone there again.

flatbush_joe | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I had soil tested (Ditmas Park area) and lead found. My understanding is that all the houses around here have lead in soil. Removing soil is probably overkill. I think IMBY Bliz and EJR are generally correct. I have kids. We only eat vegetables grown in raised beds with soil we brought in. Kids have been tested for lead many times and never had elevated levels.

murph | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Cover with cement blocks to allow for drainage. Hose it down regularly. Pour sour milk at gaps to promote growth in those gaps of green whatever it’s called.

Desperate? Wait for them to start raising up the real grit from the Canal. Backfill your yard, apply for Superfund money.

yesbrooklyn | 8 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks for all this info. I was remiss and didn’t give full details. I have small children and will of course use raised beds for edibles. We’ve tested and have high lead. I’d like for my kids to play in the yard. I’m concerned about cost of covering it with a platform deck. Also not trying to go higher with yard as we’ll loose grade with house, already have runoff issues, etc. Can anyone recommend a company to get this conversation started? Who did you use @bliz