RELYING ON LOCAL FOODS GROWN IN ENVIRONMENTALLY COMPROMISED SPACES: METAL(LOID) ACCUMULATION IN PLANTS

Certain plants have been shown to accumulate metal(loid)s of concern and contribute to an individual’s daily contaminant burden. This is of increasing concern for populations that rely on locally grown foods. Since 2010, through a co-created citizen science design, over 400 plant and 200 soil samples have been collected by community researchers to evaluate the metal(loid)s concentrations, calculate bioaccumulation factors, and assess the cost-benefit ratio between the nutritional gains of locally grown produce versus the impact of chronic low-level exposure to pollutants. In order to inform policy, it is essential to characterize the fate and transport of contaminants in soil-plant systems, conduct exposure assessments (soil, water, produce), and determine to what extent urban or rural gardening contributes to metal(loid) body burden.