Pressure treated wood deck had/has arsenic in it that leached out and contaminated dirt below -- is there some plant I could put there that might absorb the arsenic? If I dig up the dirt, what do I do with it, just throw it out, or do I drop it off at my city's toxic collection site where they collect paint thinner and the like? How bad is this for my kids to be around?
2006-08-01 09:00:18 · 3 answers · asked by mominDC 1 in Environment
You should call your county health department and ask them what their protocol is for dealing with that type of contamination. Usually you will dig it up and send it to a landfill that accepts that type of waste material. This is usually performed by qualified people with hazardous-materials handling certifications and licenses. Your local agency should be able to give you names of qualified companies in your area. As far as phytoremediation (plants), there may be a species that will uptake the arsenic but you will still have the plants that will contain the arsenic so that can be a problem if you have kids or animals that may ingest the plant material.
2006-08-01 09:13:37 · answer #1 · answered by subgeo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to get someone to test the soil and determine how much arsenic there is. Many soils have arsenic in them but are not considered to be dangerous unless disturbed, Arsenic is an element and doesn't break down.
2006-08-01 16:22:56 · answer #2 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Extract it and sell it to the wood industry.
2006-08-01 18:24:37 · answer #3 · answered by Ryan B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋