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Can contamination of this years leafy crops happen from wind blown sand/silt from last years flood? #167652

Asked February 21, 2014, 3:28 PM EST

We live on an alluvial fan and  have considerable sand/silt deposits that continue to blow in the wind from the floods of 2013 in Boulder County. Can contamination of this years leafy crops happen from wind blown sand/silt from last years flood? And, we noticed a rust colored deposits in standing water that actually seemed to grow and have a septic odor. My wife and I seem to have irritations (lung, eyes and nasal) from this sandy material blowing in the wind. Besides the obvious silicates in the air could there be other harmful contaminants (from upstream septic) in the air we should be concerned with and where can we have that soil tested for this? Thanks for your attention! Mark

Boulder County Colorado

Expert Response

You can follow this link for Colorado State University Extension Fact Sheet 0.520, "Selecting an Analytical Laboratory", to find an appropriate soil testing lab for your needs: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/00520.html.
Micaela Truslove Replied February 25, 2014, 3:25 PM EST

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