ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2021
The Safe Urban Harvests Study: A Community-Driven Cross-Sectional Assessment of Metals in Soil, Irrigation Water, and Produce from Urban Farms and Gardens in Baltimore, Maryland.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Does Home and Wild Food Procurement Enhance Food Security in High-Income Countries?Current environmental health reports · 2025Review
- Concentration and Potential Non-Carcinogenic and Carcinogenic Health Risk Assessment of Metals in Locally Grown Vegetables.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Application and demonstration of meso-activity exposure factors to advance estimates of incidental soil ingestion among agricultural workers.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- (Non)targeted Chemical Analysis and Risk Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Darkibor Kale Grown at Rural and Urban Farms.Environmental science & technology · 2024Article
- Nutrients and non-essential metals in darkibor kale grown at urban and rural farms: A pilot study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Potential Policy and Community Implications of Equitable Organic Waste, Compost, and Urban Agricultural Systems in the United States.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- Urban Soil Safety Policies: The Next Frontier for Mitigating Lead Exposures and Promoting Sustainable Food Production.GeoHealth · 2022Article
- Invited Perspective: Assessing the Contaminant Exposure Risks of Urban Gardening: Call for Updated Health Guidelines.Environmental health perspectives · 2021Article
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16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEmerging evidence suggests social, health, environmental, and economic benefits of urban agriculture (UA). However, limited work has characterized the risks from metal contaminant exposures faced by urban growers and consumers of urban-grown produce.
objectivesWe aimed to answer community-driven questions about the safety of UA and the consumption of urban-grown produce by measuring concentrations of nine metals in the soil, irrigation water, and urban-grown produce across urban farms and gardens in Baltimore, Maryland.
methodsWe measured concentrations of 6 nonessential [arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni)] and three essential [copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn)] metals in soil, irrigation water, and 13 types of urban-grown produce collected from 104 UA sites. We compared measured concentrations to existing public health guidelines and analyzed relationships between urban soil and produce concentrations. In the absence of guidelines for metals in produce, we compared metals concentrations in urban-grown produce with those in produce purchased from farmers markets and grocery stores (both conventionally grown and U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic).
resultsMean concentrations of all measured metals in irrigation water were below public health guidelines. Mean concentrations of nonessential metals in growing area soils were below public health guidelines for Ba, Cd, Pb, and Ni and at or below background for As and Cr. Though we observed a few statistically significant differences in concentrations between urban and nonurban produce items for some combinations, no consistent or discernable patterns emerged. DISCUSSION: Screening soils for heavy metals is a critical best practice for urban growers. Given limitations in existing public health guidelines for metals in soil, irrigation water, and produce, additional exposure assessment is necessary to quantify potential human health risks associated with exposure to nonessential metals when engaging in UA and consuming urban-grown produce. Conversely, the potential health benefits of consuming essential metals in urban-grown produce also merit further research. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9431.
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