There is a reason that I don’t grow vegetables in the garden. Portions of Midtown Phillips, East Phillips, and Corcoran neighborhoods sit on what was once a pesticide plant, and much of the soil in the area is laced with arsenic. The ‘arsenic field’ is the worst near the intersection of 28th and Hiawatha, where the CMC Heartland Lite plant once operated. The field extends from Franklin Avenue to the north down to 33rd Street, east along Hiawatha Avenue and west to 11th Avenue. The Environmental Protection Agency is working to clean up the mess with the use of Superfund.

Recent studies have suggested that the Superfund cleanup might need to move into Seward, Powderhorn, and Longfellow neighborhoods as well. Superfund cleans up the sites by removing all contaminated soil from properties, all at the expense of the federal government.

What is disturbing is that many families in my neighborhood, Phillips, are new immigrants and use their yards for growing fruits and vegetables. It’s likely many folks in the neighborhood have no idea there is poison in the soil they grow their food in.

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