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by unlikelymordant 1414 days ago
If people have dumped engine oil as a weed suppressant or just poured it out on the ground, youll get a lot of heavy metals including lead.

Also leaded gasoline used to be popular, and would likely have been used for all sorts of things like an accelerant or a degreaser. It doesnt take many incidents like that over 50 years to spread lead all over the place.
2 comments
partomniscient 1414 days ago
And that's just the lead...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_Bay_Groundwater_Plume

I don't know what's worse 'progress' with known costs and done anyway, or 'progress' done in ignorance (sometimes rather intentionally).

It's the future's problem - not ours. Welcome to said future.

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s1artibartfast 1414 days ago
yeah, my understanding is that a significant portion of the urban lead contamination is from automobile exhaust. This is a much better explanation than some paint chips.

I do wonder about the contribution from leaded piping. If you imagine many decades of garden irrigation, it seems that some accumulation would be expected.

Another consideration is if there were ever any coal plants in the area.

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