Learning how plants, compost and other materials combat contamination can be a source of empowerment in the face of disasters that are beyond individual control, and proponents say the approach is more environmentally friendly than conventional alternatives. For some, the tools are also a backstop against inadequate government help.<\/p>\n
Harnessing the power of nature <\/p>\n
Maggie Smart-McCabe of SoilWise points to the minerals and organic matter in healthy soil placed under a microscope during a soil remediation class at the Theodore Payne Foundation.<\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
The typical approach to dealing with contaminated dirt is stripping away the topsoil. As part of its post-fire cleanup, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would scrape up to 6 inches<\/a> from fire-destroyed homes.<\/p>\n But in many cases, large swaths<\/a> of yards and gardens were left out.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not real remediation, SoilWise\u2019s Genesis Sandoval said during the recent workshop at Theodore Payne Foundation<\/a>, a native plant nursery and education center in Sun Valley. \u201cIt\u2019s really just moving a problem from one place to another place.\u201d <\/p>\n It historically has ended up on the doorstep of marginalized communities, she added.<\/p>\n Nature provides other tools, though. <\/p>\n Heavy metals such as lead don\u2019t break down, so they have to essentially be trapped in certain types of plants, minerals and compost, SoilWise co-founder Lynn Fang said. <\/p>\n There\u2019s evidence that buckwheat and bush sunflower can take up lead, and saltbush can ensnare arsenic, Fang said, also name-checking corn, squash and cucumber for their ability to sequester contaminants such as dioxins.<\/p>\n Biochar, a charcoal-like material that some people mix in their garden soil<\/a>, has pores that can capture metals, Fang said, adding that there\u2019s also research indicating it can suck up PFAS, or so-called forever chemicals.<\/p>\n Some nasties, including dioxins, can be broken down by fungi and microbes. Oyster mushrooms excel at chomping down contaminants such as hydrocarbons \u2014 even cigarette butts. \u201cThey\u2019ll turn it into basically, like, mushroom,\u201d Fang said. <\/p>\n Workshop attendees got down and (literally) dirty making \u201cecological filter socks,\u201d stuffing things like oak mulch and crushed oyster shells into burlap sacks.<\/p>\n The nitty gritty Leslie Carothers of Altadena, whose house survived the Eaton fire, is proud of the filter sock she made.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The broad strokes of natural detoxification are easy to grasp, but the particulars not so much. For example, in the family of minerals known as zeolites, one might be great at trapping lead while another may not be effective.<\/p>\n Once the absorptive socks or plants have done their job, they may pose a risk themselves. The workshop leaders discussed the possibility of creating a \u201csacrificial zone,\u201d potentially under trees, where materials such as lead-laced plants are composted. <\/p>\n \u201cIt can be a lot to take in, especially because soil health is a topic that is becoming more popular, and we\u2019re not really used to soil health being taught or being exposed to soil health in as much depth,\u201d SoilWise\u2019s Maggie Smart-McCabe said. <\/p>\n What lies beneath<\/p>\n After the Eaton and Palisades blazes, federal and state disaster agencies refused to pay to test soil for contaminants<\/a> on scorched lots \u2014 a practice employed in virtually all wildfire recoveries<\/a> in the recent past.<\/p>\n So researchers with USC in March began to offer the service<\/a> to L.A. County residents. The free program has focused on screening for lead, a potent neurotoxin that\u2019s especially dangerous for kids.<\/p>\n So far, most of the roughly 3,000 samples residents have submitted fall below California\u2019s level of potential concern, 80 parts per million. <\/p>\n But a substantial proportion are above that. Some are even in 1,000s<\/a>, which the state classifies as hazardous waste.<\/p>\n Lead poses a bigger problem in Altadena than in Pacific Palisades, largely because of the former\u2019s overall older housing stock<\/a>, built when homes were coated in leaded paint, said Josh West, a professor of earth sciences and environmental studies at USC.<\/p>\n Yet Palisades residents generally have more money to deal with cleanup.<\/p>\n \u201cThe burden that people in Altadena are facing is a much greater proportion of their average income,\u201d West said. <\/p>\n Mucked up soil in L.A. didn\u2019t begin with the fires An oyster mushroom block that will be crumbled onto clean straw is part of a method taught at a workshop on soil remediation.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Emissions spewed by factories and innumerable cars also have left their invisible mark on the soil<\/a> across our urban landscape. So why is soil health suddenly getting so much attention?<\/p>\n Sandoval said the blazes \u201caffected a lot of privileged communities,\u201d pointing to a possible explanation rooted in racial and socioeconomic inequity.<\/p>\n For close to a century, a battery recycling plant released heavy metals into communities in South and East L.A., \u201cwhile government agencies were unresponsive to this community health crisis,\u201d according to Prospering Backyards<\/a>, an initiative launched to address the pollution.<\/p>\n More than 80% of soil samples tested in 2022 \u2014 seven years after that plant closed \u2014 were above the 80 ppm threshold for lead, according to a recent report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prospering Backyards has tested applying zeolites (the lead-trapping minerals) to the ground along with layers of mulch and compost. A report from last year found the technique helped reduce exposure to contaminants, according to Maru Garc\u00eda, project lead for Prospering Backyards. <\/p>\n That research, which predates the fires, is now being tapped to meet the current crisis. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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