Collective conceptualization and management of riskfor arsenic pollution in urban community gardens

At the global scale, an increase in urban gardening activities is beingobserved and the question of produce quality is therefore regularly investigated inrelation to pollutant transfer in the environment. The scientific question investi-gated in the present study was in what way is the presence of arsenic pollutiondetected in community gardens a publicproblem and how would each party takeownership of this issue? An interdisciplinary and participative research studyBJASSUR^based on both agronomy and risk assessments was conducted in aFrench collective garden impacted by arsenic pollution in the well water used forirrigation. Gardener surveys and public meetings examined the gardeners’repre-sentations of risk and research solutions for sustainable site management. Thetheoretical framework of Gilbert which applies a social construction of risk wasused. Without an official arsenic limit concentration for vegetables produced in thegardens, a collective risk construction and management process took place. Arsenictotal and human bioaccessible concentrations were measured in both vegetablesand soil and compared to reference data from a national database to assess the levelof health risk. Vegetable quantities produced were obtained in the field from gardeners using harvest booklets. On the basis of a quantitative assessment of thehealth risk due to produced vegetable consumption, it was concluded that garden-ing activities could safely continue. However, the regional health authorities forbidthe use of the arsenic polluted water, and the wells were permanently closed. Byfavoring the exchanges between the gardeners and the other stakeholders (re-searchers and politicians), the arsenic pollution led to structuration in the commu-nity of gardeners and permitted a collective construction of risk management.