Lead-Safe Garden Practices

• Lead from older house paint, gasoline, and industrial emissions has found its way into soil in our gardens and it doesn't break down over time. As families garden, repeated exposure to lead can occur and accumulate in the body.
• Exposure to lead can contribute to learning and behavioral problems in children because their brains and bodies are still developing.
• Exposure to lead in adults can cause reproductive problems, high blood pressure, hypertension, and a number of problems related to the nervous system such as memory loss.

1. When kids' hands have touched lead-contaminated soil, paint, or dust and later touch their food or mouth, kids will eat some lead.
2. Kids eat lead by eating lead-contaminated soil or dust on unwanted produce, or eating produce that has taken up lead form contaminated soil.
3. Lead dust can also be tracked into the home by humans or pets. Similarly, children touch those surfaces and also put their hands or fingers in their mouths.

There are things you can do to change soil and plant chemistry to reduce the amount of lead that plants taken up. However, it's simpler and more practical to create a raised bed over a barrier layer and add new soil. Always wash vegetables thoroughly before eating.

• Be mindful of potential lead hazards when choosing a space to garden. Evaluate the surrounding space for peeling paint and paint chips. Avoid placing gardens near busy roadways. Don't use recycled materials that have been painted or treated with preservatives to create raised beds. You should also avoid using old bathtubs and tires as planters.
• Garden in new soil whenever possible, such as gardening in a planter box or adding 12-18 inches of new soil on top of a barrier over the existing soil. If possible, you should buy new soil materials that have been certified as organic by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). On the packaging look for the OMRI certification without a "caution statement like this: "The lead level of this product exceeds xx ppm."
• You can test the new soil to assure that it has less than 80 parts per million (ppm) of lead. For more information, refer to the lead hazard guidance.
• Wear gloves.
• Wash hands before eating, taking a break, and after gardening.
• Wash all produce harvested in the garden before eating.
• Prevent future soil contamination--look for old and flaking paint from neighboring buildings and hire CDPH Lead-Certified Supervisors to make repairs.

• OMRI-certified distributers
• Proper disposal of lead-contaminated soil or plants
• Other potential soil contaminants and creating raised beds
• Other sources of lead in the environment
• Resources for managing lead contamination in the San Francisco home environment to prevent lead poisoning