Risk of exposure to metals from urban garden soils in Kelowna and West Kelowna, BC

Abstract

Health risk exposure of heavy metals from home and community garden soils in Kelowna and West Kelowna, BC were assessed. Total metals in samples collected from 28 home and 17 community garden plots and one soil conditioner were analysed by XRF and ICP-MS. Barium was the most common whereas manganese had the highest mean. Copper was the only element with a mean concentration over the CCME soil quality guideline for residential land use and had the highest bioaccessibility. Soil conditioning products were used in 75% of the gardens. No statistically significant difference was found for copper concentrations in gardens that added soil conditioning products and those that did not, or for lead concentrations in gardens near homes built prior to 1991 and those built after 1991 when lead was limited in paint. Overall, the relative risk of gardeners’ exposure to metal was low based on metal daily intake via ingestion.