We’ve stopped all on-farm workshops, field trips, and volunteer projects while we wait for information from the City of Montgomery about contamination at the E.A.T. South site.

E.A.T. South is next to active railroad tracks on an old rail yard. In 2010, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) conducted a Phase II study of the soil with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. The study found high levels of chromium, arsenic, benzene, and other chemicals that are volatile organic compounds known to cause cancer.

December 2023 was the first time staff had access to the information from ADEM. Previous E.A.T. South staff told us not to grow food in the ground, and we have followed those instructions. We were informed that arsenic was found on the site, but we did not know about the additional contamination. Staff and volunteers are in regular contact with soil when we build structures, install fences, or work to restore the hillside with native plants. We are exposed to dust on the farm during dry weather. We are concerned for our health and the health and safety of everyone who contributes to the life of the farm.

The only documentation we have are photos of the farm construction and one receipt for soil dumped in a landfill. In this picture, you can see by the change in color that soil was replaced in only a small section of the farm.

In 2010, ADEM recommended a “risk-based corrective action evaluation” be done based on proposed future uses of the site. This is the only official recommendation or report related to the redevelopment of the downtown farm. The City of Montgomery did not enter into a voluntary agreement with ADEM for clean-up, and ADEM had no oversight of the next steps of the project. ADEM has no later documentation about the project other than a receipt related to the removal and disposal of some of the soil from a portion of the farm.

We reached out to the City of Montgomery for additional information including any work plans, additional site assessments, or follow–up testing or reports. To date, the city has provided no documentation of their activities, no risk assessment, nothing related to the site’s redevelopment. This is what we know:

The City Engineer’s office told us a barrier was installed between the original and new soil on the entire farm site. We agree that there is a barrier under the 24 brick raised beds, but it does not cover the entire farm. Interviews with E.A.T. South staff present during the farm’s construction and our own experience digging holes for fence posts and other projects indicate no additional barriers on the site.
Contaminated soil was removed and new soil brought in (ADEM shared a copy of a receipt with us), but only on about a fourth of the property. E.A.T. South’s construction photos show new soil covering the area between the front fence and caboose. The rest of the farm from the culverts behind the greenhouse to the back fence was not capped with new soil. We met with staff from ADEM’s Brownfield and Superfund divisions, and they agreed with this assessment.
In February, we met with Parks and Recreation. They hired TTL Engineering for follow-up tests. Six weeks ago the firm took four soil samples and installed devices to capture any chemical off gassing. We are waiting for those test results. The TTL soil samples were taken from the first foot of soil. We asked for samples to be taken to at least three feet because of the potential for chemical exposure when building structures on the farm.

2010 soil test results from Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s Phase II Study showing levels of heavy metal contamination.

Soil tests results from Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s Phase II Study showing levels of chemical contamination.

Since last December, we’ve been climbing a steep learning curve around brownfields, railyards, and remediation. Engineers, professors, and staff from national organizations that advocate for pollution abatement have provided amazing support and resources. Here’s what we have learned:

Old rail yards are particularly toxic. Their soils contain diesel fuel spills, chemical spills from rail cars, lead arsenate herbicide residue, solvents, and sometimes PCBs.
Reclamation of railyards requires extensive soil sampling and mapping to determine if some areas have higher concentrations of chemicals than others. Remediation and reuse plans may excavate one area more deeply than others or restrict access to a portion of the property based on this information. The only sampling done at E.A.T. South mixed the 40+ samples of soil together. We don’t know if some areas are more dangerous than others.
Even soils along railroad tracks are known to contain heavy metal and chemical contamination. (Don’t put gardens near railroad tracks.) The Rails to Trails Conservancy provides information to help decrease exposure to toxic substances when designing and building trails along old rail lines. Their materials state that additional guidance and support is needed for rail yards because of the extent of the contamination.
Rail yards can be reused. Projects in Los Angeles, Ashland, Oregon, and Sacramento, CA, offer clean-up and reuse examples.

Fundamentally, we are concerned for our own health, the health of our animals, and the health of the people we invite to the farm. Staff often spend more than forty hours a week on the site, our regular volunteers come back week after week, and our ducks dabble in the mud, rabbits dig holes, and chickens enjoy dust baths. Children on field trips sit on the ground to eat their lunches. Have we been putting our health at risk while delivering programs intended to improve the health and well being of the community?

At this point, we still don’t know the current levels of contamination at the farm, and we have no idea about the potential risks to our health. We believe the food we have grown has been safe to eat, but we have spent a lot of time in the dust of the chicken coop or building sheds or fences. Two city council members and a private individual have reached out about other potential spaces. We are trying to decide if we have enough energy and resources to rebuild our programs.

Reading the ADEM report in December hurt. Maybe it’s just a job, but we’ve never treated this work that way. Growing things, bringing people together in the garden, this is a part of who we are, not just what we do. Honestly, we don’t know what we will do next. Do we have the energy to try and start again? It’s a real question. We are currently planning garden classes into spring of 2025, and we will keep you updated through the newsletter and blog of our next steps. Thank you for continuing with us on this journey!

Soil Contamination at E.A.T. South