Pollution Problem - need advice

[robototitico]

fellow gardeners,

I have just this year taken over a plot which has had rubbish burned in one corner of it. I have been continually trying to clear the bits of burnt plastic, aluminium cans, paper, what looks like the filling of a cushion or a pillow, etc that is in the soil.

I have gone through the soil carefully and almost all the big bits are gone (Although I still ocasionally find a bottle cap or lumps of melted plastic .etc). However common sense tells me that there are still small particles in the soil, not to mention the seepage of chemicals and so forth.

I am worried that my nearby vegetables will be contaminated and be dangerous to eat. From asking local people, I understand that this place hasnt been used as a bonfire spot for about 2 - 3 years now. It is about 4 feet by 10 feet up against the north wall. The entire plot is 22 feet by 23 feet.

My two questions:

A Are the peas, carrots, potatoes, and rhubarb in the rest of the plot safe to eat?

B Do I need to remove and replace all of the affected area and possibly surrounding areas also with new topsoil? How bad is the fall out from burnt plastic, aluminium etc?

Thanks for reading such a long post,
Best Regards as always
Philip

[richardwil]

Hi

Not sure I can be much help but if this is a council allotment they should have an allotment officer (or something similar) and they should be able to advise you about this.

Good Luck

[malcolmx]

you will find that the veg will be ok to eat fire will have destroyed any chemicals, what you are finding is the non flammable items probably inert rubbish .

the only case i have ever read of any type of poisoning from a normally harmless plant was typhoid in melons that were watered with contaminated water (America or Mexico )
generally speaking if the ground is toxic most likely the plants will be killed any way before fruiting