Urban agriculture and health: assessing risks and overseeing practices

Practiced worldwide for its environmental and social benefits as much as for its food-growing potential, urban and peri-urban agriculture is exposed to various forms of pollution related to cultivation methods and urban air and soil quality, as well as to the varied reactions to pollutants exhibited by different crop types. Faced with this broad spectrum of factors, empirically proven methodological frameworks make it possible to assess health risks and oversee practices in close contact with all actors involved. This is the aim of the work undertaken by teams from AgroParisTech and INRA working on the T4P and REFUGE programs on urban farms in the Paris region, and the Franco-Madagascan ADURAA and QUALISANN programs studying vegetables-growing in Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar

Contribution à l'étude de la disponibilité des éléments traces métalliques (Pb,Cu, Cd) des sols à l'aide du réactif EDTA

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Bioavailability, fractionation of Pb and Zn in the rhizosphere of sunflower in chelators-amended contaminated soil

Assisted phytoremediation procedures have been widely employed as soil removal instrument of heavy metals from contaminated soils. Rhizosphere processes have a major impact on pb and Zn availability and its fractions in soils. The present study evaluates the effects of EDTA, citric acid (CA) and poultry manure extract (PME) on bioavailability and fractionation of pb, Zn in both the rhizosphere of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and bulk soil. EDTA and CA were added to soils at the rates of 0, 0.5 and 1 mmol kg(-1) soil and PME at 0, 0.5 and 1 g kg(-1) soil as factorial in a completely randomized pattern with three replicates in greenhouse condition. Results showed that chelator application had a significant impact (p residual fraction > OM-bounded fraction > carbonate-bounded fraction > exchangeable fraction. Biochemical soil characteristics in the sunflower rhizosphere change resulting from its roots contributing to pb, Zn decline in mobile soil fractions, and change in soil pb, Zn fractions that are generally regarded as more stable

Health risks assessment in three urban farms of Paris Region for different scenarios of urban agricultural users: A case of soil trace metals contamination

Within the context of a worldwide emergence of various forms of urban agriculture, there is a growing awareness concerning the health risks associated to the presence of different pollutants influencing the urban products safety. Among the most common pollutants found in soils and vegetables grown in the city, Trace Metals (TM’s) are of major concern. This paper deals with risks assessment associated with the presence of TM’s in soil, via two main exposure path ways: soil and vegetables ingestions. Risks assessments were conducted for various types of real scenarios encountered in three forms of urban farms near Paris (Ile-de-France Region). The farms have soil TM’s levels in abnormally high concentrations (Pb (Lead), Cd (Cadmium), Hg (Mercury), Cu (Copper) and Zn (Zinc) contents higher than geochemical backgrounds and threshold values for sludge spreading, often used as reference values in France). The results of the Hazard Quotient (HQ)-based risk assessment approach (HQ defined as the ratio of estimated daily intake/tolerable daily intake) show that the most risky scenarios concern urban farmers (HQtot = 1.02, because of the on-site working on a daily basis all year round), children gardeners (HQtot = 1.29) and regular children consumers (HQtot = 1.6 in maximalist scenario, where the consumer would exclusively consume the vegetables of the farm). Next would be the adult gardener scenario (HQtot= 0.9), while the least risky are adult consumer scenarios (HQtot = 0.62) and the farm workers (HQtot = 0.45). For the highest risk scenarios (urban farmers and children), specific and drastic measures may be considered, such as reducing the site frequentation by sensitive populations (child and pregnant women) or proceeding to control analysis of TM’s levels in blood for the most exposed peoples. The choice of parameters used in HQ-based method must be appropriated to the specificities of urban agricultural activities. The uncertainties in the choice of some parameters such as soil ingestion, vegetable intake and exposure frequency could result in an over- or under-estimation of the risk

Non, tout ce qui pousse en ville n’est pas pollué

revue en ligne 26 novembre 2018National audienc

Potential of technosols created with urban by-products for rooftop edible production

International audienceUrban agriculture is sprouting throughout the world nowadays. New forms of urban agriculture are observed such as rooftop farming. In the case of low-tech rooftop farming projects, based on recycled urban waste, one of the key issues is the type of substrate used, as it determines the functions and ecosystem services delivered by the green roof. Using a five year experimental trial, we quantified the food production potential of Technosols created only with urban wastes (green waste compost, crushed wood, spent mushroom), as well as the soil fertility and the potential contamination of food products. Regarding food production, our cropping system showed promising results across the five years, in relation with the high fertility of the Technosols. This fertility was maintained, as well as the nutrients stocks after five cropping years. Most of the edible crops had trace metals contents below existing norms for toxic trace metals with nevertheless a concern regarding certain some trace metals such as Zn and Cu. There was no trace metal accumulation in the Technosols over time except for Zn. This study confirmed that constructing Technosols only from urban wastes is a suitable and efficient solution to design rooftops for edible production

Plan de Maitrise Sanitaire - Agricultures Urbaines à destination des structures d’agricultures urbaines implantées en pleine terre et/ou sur substrat organique.

L’équipe de recherche REFUGE a développé l’outil de Plan de Maîtrise Sanitaire (PMS) propre à l’Agriculture Urbaine (AU) en travaillant directement avec des porteurs de projet d’AU, afin de répondre de manière pertinente à leurs attentes en termes de gestion des risques.L’instauration du PMS dans une micro-ferme comme outil de gestion des risques fait suite à la phase de caractérisation du danger et l'évaluation des risques, première étape de la méthodologie REFUGE.Dans les cas où cela est faisable et nécessaire, la deuxième étape consiste alors à élaborer un Plan de maîtrise sanitaire (PMS) au sein des structures d’AU pour identifier les moyens à mettre en œuvre afin de prévenir ou limiter les risques précédemment identifiés pour les usagers. Le PMS-AU comporte trois volets : les fiches de Bonnes Pratiques (d’Hygiène – BPH, et Agricoles - BPA), le plan HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) et l’intercalaire Traçabilité

Rooftop farming on urban waste provides many ecosystem services

Urban farming, especially on rooftops, is a popular and growing topic in both the media and the scientific literature, providing a genuine opportunity to meet some of the challenges linked to urban development worldwide. However, relatively little attention has been paid to date to the growing medium of green roofs, i.e., Technosols. A better understanding of the influence of Technosols and the link with ecosystem services is required in order to maximize the environmental benefits of urban rooftop farming. Between March 2013 and March 2015, a pilot project called T4P (Parisian Productive rooftoP, Pilot Experiment) was conducted on the rooftop of AgroParisTech University. Urban organic waste was used, and results were compared with those obtained using a commercial potting soil, based on yield and trace metal concentrations, substrate characterization, and the amount of leaching. An assessment of the ecosystem services expected from the Technosols was undertaken in terms of the output of food (food production and quality), regulation of water runoff (quantity and quality), and the recycling of organic waste. Indicators of these ecosystem services (e.g., yield, annual loss of mass of mineral nitrogen) were identified, measured, and compared with reference cases (asphalt roof, green roof, and cropland). Measured yields were almost equivalent to those obtained from horticultural sources in the same area, and the Technosols also retained 74–84% of the incoming rainfall water. This is the first quantitative analysis of ecosystem services delivered by urban garden rooftops developed on organic wastes, and demonstrates their multifunctional character, as well as allowing the identification of trade-offs. An ecosystem services approach is proposed for the design of soil-based green infrastructure of this kind and more generally for the design of sustainable urban agriculture

Multi reactional modeling to enhance oxidative stability of foods (project STABOXAL)

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