Stinky, Poisoned Dirt. HELP!

[Billy Hoyle]

First post....

My issue is this.

I recently purchased a house that needs a decent amount of work. The previous homeowner decided to empty about 2 gallons of pesticide in the dirt along the front wall to "kill the bugs". Yes, 2 gallons!!! along a 10 yard long wall. I had no idea what was stinking so bad until I asked him if he possibly knew why the front of the house stunk so bad. He told me and all I could do is stand there in disgust. Anyways...

I know now the exact area where it was poured and I do know it was about 4 months ago. What I don't know is what kind of pesticide it was. It stinks pretty darn bad.

I have dug up the top 6 inches of soil but the area still smells.

My question is this.

Is there something I can add to the soil to at least eliminate the smell or to I ultimately have to remove all the effected soil?

I'm asking, HOPING that I don't have to remove any more dirt

Thanks in advance

[cynthia_h]

If you can possibly get the information from this previous...uh...individual, it could make a great difference in the approach taken to remediating your soil.

Depending on the chemical(s) involved, simple excavation may do the trick. However, some pesticides do permeate the subsurface and seek groundwater. Let's hope this was not one of them. Anyone downstream, or anyone whose water comes from downstream, will be in trouble, as will any aquatic forms of life. not your fault, though; you're trying to make things better

Your town/county may have a hazardous waste disposal/landfill available where hazwaste (usually things like paint, batteries, weed killers, etc.) can be taken; check around discreetly--online is good, or calling from a non-traceable phone--about the stinky soil. Perhaps you can legally take it to the hazwaste drop-off in small amounts over an extended period of time.

If you're the new owner of this property *and* you have a good relationship with your realtor, it may also be worthwhile to ask him/her whether this situation should have been in the pre-sale disclosures. If it should have been disclosed and was not, the realtor may be able to advise you on possible recourse.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[thanrose]

It would help to know what he spread, first. If you can't get the info from him, you might try your agricultural extension office, with any details he can give you and a plastic bag sample of a handful or more of the soil. I know I'd smell malathion a mile away, and could recognize a few others as well. If he can tell you what the container was like, what the poison looked like, what he thought it was supposed to kill, whether it said that it was broad spectrum, or it had any sort of name he could recall, even just to Bayer or Ortho or a store brand, that might help, too.

The reason you would want to know that, or have an ag-extension person help you figure out is that there are some things that can be remedied with cover crops that pull up the toxins and are then destroyed after a season. There are some that will off-gas if the soil is turned, and turned, and turned over weeks. There are some you should not touch with your hands or pets' fur or children's random clothing contact.

What it is will give you information on how to fix this.

BTW, flooding it with water is not a solution, although it might be tempting.

I almost bought a house that had an illicit car repair in the back forty. So much used oil, battery acid, and gasoline had been spilled that digging down a foot in some places it was still heavily contaminated. Ha, then my next house of interest had a dead sinkhole pond due to manufacturing waste. Again, a brief investigation into bioremediation, and I had to pass that one up too.

Good luck with this. If it is limited in scope and determined to be nothing you can remedy or clean up, you might consider paving a decorative path along that wall. Just be sure that won't force fumes into your home.

[bullthistle]

If it were me I'd use a combination of lime and cat litter then dig it up and dump it legally. If it is heavy soil the brunt of it will stay for a while but if sand it should wash through but if you have a well close by I'd check it every six months for contamination. Sometimes these things can be oicked up if the house is inspected before hand by someone competent.

[cynthia_h]

The term for what thanrose is suggesting is phytoremediation. Different plants have been discovered to uptake different chemicals in their roots/stems at different rates. These properties have been used at commercial hazwaste sites to pull some initial (or final) concentrations of pollutants from the soil before/after using more conventional methods of treatment.

The sticky wicket the OP faces by bringing the matter to the attention of the government is that he *may* trigger a formal environmental clean-up and associated co$t$. This is California, after all.... So whatever he can learn beforehand, discreetly, online, from the previous owner, and from the realtor will all be to the good.

Cynthia

[thanrose]

Yes, phytoremediation is a type of bioremediation. If I had acquired the property with the tainted pond, it would have involved a bit more than phytoremediation. There are bacteria, fungi, and insects that can do some of the "heavy lifting" to decontaminate for some substances or at least reduce contamination. And they would fall under bioremediation, as would phytoremediation.

In any case, one then has to consider what to do with whatever organisms are decontaminating the area. Some may reduce certain contaminants to inert components, such as desalinizing soil after the levee broke, or aerating hydrogen sulfide to break it up. Those aren't the problem. But stuff like Chenopodia spp (as one small example) may become toxic because they grew in contaminated soil and took part of that up through their roots. Those plants might have to be bagged and destroyed, depending on which toxin.

It's fascinating science, and I've only dabbled on the periphery with personal applications.

[froggy]

For certain toxins digging it up, spreading it out and leaving it in the sun could work (UV rays have a way of breaking up chemicals on a molecular level) - if it would work and how long it could take, who knows really, until you figure out what the stuff is....