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Environmental Health

Childhood Lead Prevention Program: Information for Gardeners

  1. What do you need to know about lead hazards before planning a garden?

    2. Most San Francisco soils are contaminated with lead from paint that has been scraped off or fallen off of buildings built before 1979 and from decades of gasoline emissions that contained lead. In addition, many adjacent building, fencing, retaining wall and step surfaces have degrading paint releasing lead, which is another set of lead hazards frequently overlooked during garden planning. Consequently, special precautions should be taken when constructing a home or community garden. SFDPH developed a guidance document that provides step-by-step knowledge for planning a lead-safe garden. (pdf)

  2. Where can you learn how to minimize lead hazards when gardening?

    3. The brochure, "Lead-Safe Garden Practices" (pdf), was originally developed in partnership with the non-profit, Garden for the Environment, a non-profit that offers periodic workshops on Lead-Safe Gardening Practices. Access Garden for the Environment workshop descriptions here.