Evaluating Plant Uptake of Chemical Contaminants in Crops Grown Near Urban Gardening Sites for Human Health Risk Assessment

This document provides an assessment of the potential exposure routes, plant uptake pathways, and remediation practices of chemicals contaminants found in crops grown in urban gardening sites. This report will focus on both inorganic and organic pollutants that are considered contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) by the U.S. EPA. The presence of several trace elements and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in urban soil media were analyzed on the state-level to quantify the potential contamination risk associated with plant uptake mechanisms by crops commonly grown throughout the various regions of the U.S. CECs exposure routes in urban agriculture (UA) scenarios and associated human health risks are assessed. This report also serves to provide potential remediation methods for polluted urban soils, with an emphasis on affordability, accessibility, and sustainability of the methods.

The specific aims of this report will utilize the existing methods used to quantify the concentrations of chemical contaminants in urban soil media to identify regional trends and produce a best practices guide for urban growers. A portion will be dedicated to outlining research gaps which require remediation in order to facilitate a more accurate characterization of potential exposure of CECs to ensure enough data is provided to form national screening levels.

Ashley DeJuliannie, Virtual Student Federal Service Internship Program, U.S. EPA; The College of Saint Scholastica, Duluth, MN (adejuliannie@css.edu)
Ashley is a Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) intern working with the EPA's Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), where she has helped research data gaps in risk assessment at urban agricultural sites. She obtained her B.S. in Biochemistry from the College of St. Scholastica, and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Chemistry at the same institution.

Alison Flynt, Virtual Student Federal Service Internship Program, U.S. EPA; University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming (aflynt1@uwyo.edu)
Alison is a Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) intern working with the EPA’s Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), where they have helped research data gaps in risk assessment at urban agricultural sites. They obtained their B.S. in Forensic Biology as well as a minor in Psychology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott Campus in Prescott, Arizona, and will be joining the University of Wyomins Molecular Biology department to pursue their Ph.D. in Molecular Biology.

Aaliyah Pécou, Virtual Student Federal Service Internship Program, U.S. EPA (aapecou@gmail.com)
Aaliyah is a Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) intern working with the EPA’s Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), where she has helped research data gaps in risk assessment at urban agricultural sites. She obtained her B.S. in Environmental Science with an emphasis in the Biosphere from the University of Arizona.

Michele Burgess, U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) (Burgess.Michele@epa.gov or 202-566-1061)
Dr. Michele Burgess has over 25 years of experience in human health risk assessment at the state and federal level. She has a B.S. in Chemistry from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Georgia State University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Emory University before becoming a state and eventually a federal employee.  Dr. Burgess has experience in emergency response as well as long - term remedial actions.
Dr. Burgess has led many initiatives in the human health risk assessment and participated or led the development of regulatory guidance for human health risk assessment.

Moderator:

Jean Balent, U.S. EPA Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (balent.jean@epa.gov or 202-566-0832)
Ms Balent is on the staff of the EPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division where she has worked to collect and disseminate hazardous waste remediation and characterization information since 2003. Ms Balent manages the Clean Up Information Network website and actively supports online communication and collaboration resources available to EPA. She formerly worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Engineering Division in the Buffalo District. Ms Balent was also a member of the SUNY-Buffalo Groundwater Research Group where she constructed and tested large scale models of groundwater flow. Ms Balent has also conducted research relating to the Great Lakes, environmental remediation, and brownfields re-development. She holds a Bachelor's degree in environmental engineering from SUNY-Buffalo and a Master's degree in Information Technology from AIU.

• Slide Presentation for Ashley DeJuliannie, Alison Flynt, Aaliyah Pecou, and Michele Burgess (3.35MB/PDF)

Webinar Slides and References:

• Slide Presentation for Ashley DeJuliannie, Alison Flynt, Aaliyah Pecou, and Michele Burgess (3.35MB/PDF)

Additional Resources:

• Evaluating Plant Uptake Pathways of Chemical Contaminants in State Models for Risk Assessments of Contaminated Urban Gardening Sites (Archive of December 19, 2022 Webinar)
• Evaluating Plant Uptake Pathways of Chemical Contaminants in State Models for Risk Assessments of Contaminated Urban Gardening Sites (Full Report)
• Comparison of Risk Assessment Parameters for Homegrown Produce in Various Models
• Evaluating Plant Uptake of Chemical Contaminants in Crops Grown Near Urban Gardening Sites for Human Health Risk Assessment (Draft)

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 August 9, 2023: Evaluating Plant Uptake of Chemical Contaminants in Crops Grown Near Urban Gardening Sites for Human Health Risk Assessment

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