Saint John gardener worries about winter after AIM fallout leads to caution from province
CBC
Kim Fulton, a gardener in east Saint John, was wary after the fire at American Iron and Metal on the waterfront sent toxic clouds of smoke over the city.
Fulton said she has kidney disease and consuming any heavy metals or toxins could be deadly.
"When you're talking heavy metals and benzenes and things like that, they're toxic to everybody," said Fulton, who grows food in her own yard and at a community garden behind Bayside Middle School.
And the latest advice from the province makes it clear it's still not known whether eating vegetables grown in local gardens will be safe this winter or ever.
A release on Friday advised people in the Saint John area to wash and keep produce frozen until soil testing is complete or, alternatively, to discard them with the regular garbage.
The fire at AIM's metal recycling plant on the west side broke out at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 14 and wasn't extinguished until 8 p.m on Sept. 15. Over nearly 40 hours, Saint John firefighters poured more than two million litres of water on the flames.
The fire also led to a city-wide shelter in place order.
The next day, the Saint John Emergency Measures Organization told people to throw away any above-ground produce from their gardens that may have been exposed, and that any below-ground produce that was not exposed would be considered "safe for consumption."
But gardeners were still left with questions about underground produce and the safety of the soil.
Fulton said she's "food poor" and all of her medications and vitamins have eaten further into her budget. So to lose a crop, when she already put $200 worth of seeds and seedlings into it, is not ideal.
In its release Friday, the Department of Health said a consultant has been hired to do soil testing on several community gardens in Saint John and surrounding areas.
The voluntary advisory also suggested people wash their hands thoroughly after handling crops or soil, and those who choose to compost garden crops or soil should keep them separate from existing compost for the time being.
In Fulton's home garden, she grows strawberries, onion chives, herbs, potatoes and tomatoes.
At the community garden, one of the crops is asparagus, which is a four-year crop before first harvest. This year was supposed to be that harvest, she said.
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