Loomio

Soil Contamination Testing Start-Up

K Keith Public Seen by 90

With increased interest in the public growing food and medicinal plants on unused land in the UK, unlike many third world or developing countries, we do not have free access to suitable soil contamination testing equipment and knowledge. This is a proposal to make such testing available through investment in Field Portable X-ray Fluorescence equipment (XRF) and suitable training and funding to offer small groups the ability to test potentially polluted sites before food production commences.

RK

Ruth Kenward Mon 15 Mar 2021 5:30PM

Sounds great ...

RK

Ruth Kenward Mon 15 Mar 2021 10:58AM

Exactly why I’m interested.

K

Keith Mon 15 Mar 2021 10:29AM

What is also great about these devices is that they can be used for so much more, including checking seeds are of good quality, that foods contain the desired nutrients to make them healthy to eat or to check how much carbon you are sequestering in your soil or forest crops. This video explains how they work and some of the applications. It surprises me that these are not common place for food growing projects in the UK because they available to so many projects in developing countries through various organisations funded on the growers' behalf.

RK

Ruth Kenward Sun 14 Mar 2021 6:13PM

What an excellent idea! As trustee of a community allotments project in Eastbourne (alongside an industrial area) I would very much appreciate having access to suitable training and funding.