While lead from older paints that can get ground off old autos is poisonous if you breathe the polluted dust, eat the polluted soil, or drink water polluted with the stuff, it has been shown that you don't get poisoned by eating plants growing in that soil. Especially with leafy vegetables. So the risk there is going to be working in that vicinity, and not necessarily eating food grown in that vicinity. You might test the soil for lead. Such a shop will emit a lot of volatile organic compounds that are used as solvents. Many of these aren't nice. I believe such VOCs, if absorbed by plants, actually get broken down within the plants. So again, eating the food grown there is less of a VOC risk than just hanging out there. In that case, I'd just trust your nose. If it smells like solvents, you're breathing them. I might guess, however, that if you're not going to be spending a large fraction of your life there, you'll probably end up ingesting less VOCs there than you would by just living 24/7 in an urban environment. Cars produce benzene, acetaldehyde, and 1,3-butadiene, for example, all of which are carcinogens.

I should have mentioned that I would intend to live at the property as well. There is a house there where I would live while I build some buildings including a new house. I did notice while standing near the front porch of the house, when the wind blew in that direction, the smell of paint. It wasn't terribly strong but definitely detectable.

I'm wondering if they are meeting all applicable codes for paint spraying and/or if their filtering can be updated. I understand that waterfall filters, which are apparently very good, are often required for these kinds of operations.

Well then, the health issue is probably less about eating from the garden, and more about just living there. That's important that you've established that there is no historical pollution of the site, but it's certainly worth doing at least a soil lead test, and might be worth investing in a lab analysis to look for other soil contaminants. The Environmental Defense Fund has noted that while lead from automobiles dropped sharply when leaded gasoline was banned, automobiles are still the main source of environmental lead - paint colorants, batteries, auto-body filler, wheels, tire weights, etc. It is thought that lead was banned from paint, but that's only true for residential house paint. Auto paints still have some.

As well as air pollution I’d also be concerned about noise. Have you visited during the working day?

Yes, the blower does make some noise. The only other noise I've noticed is from traffic on the main street. It's a little bit busy. Of course, I've been listening during winter. Sound patterns are different when vegetation is grown back and air currents change with seasons as well. I'm not as concerned about the noise as I am the fumes but it's still a thing.

Thanks to everyone for the input (so far).

Try looking up the ordinances for the township or village you are in. Maybe Cook County too. The shop might be fine. Shops can sometimes be stinky. Paint, bondo, welding, automotive fluids and exhaust, solvents, soaps and detailing chemicals. Not everywhere has strong ordinances about shops not emitting smells so long as their interior equipment is up to code for ventilation.

Also, since you are just looking at property and they are an already established business. Are you sure you want to start digging into their codes and possibly pick a fight with them as the newcomer to the neighborhood? I can understand the concern over what might be coming out of the shop. But proceed with caution over if you want this property or not if this is already a potential issue for you.

That p roperty would be a pass if it were me. I would not want to buy a property, with fumes that could be health damaging, nor would want the possibility of having food gardens in soil, that could possibly be contaminated. in some areas.

But forum pundits are the best!! Thank you forum pundits!

Seriously though, I'm with you about finding what science might be available about this stuff. There are lots of areas where common sense or public opinion doesn't necessarily point us in the right direction.

That said, this is turning into a rabbit hole of a project. I'm sure I could spend weeks looking at studies only to pop my head up and find that someone else has bought the property. I haven't stopped looking into this yet though..

Thanks!

At just a 300' distance from your garden I'd also be concerned about the exhausted paint dust/particles adhering to your plants when the wind blows the fumes your way. The accumulation of this airborne waste settling in the soil over many years would also be of concern as others have stated. If you can smell the paint fumes outside during operating hours then you may not want to be there either.

Let me help you with recommended research

https://www.washington.edu/news/2016/02/02/risk-of-lead-poisoning-from-urban-gardening-is-low-new-study-finds/

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/lead-garden-soils

The point is, that if you have a lot of lead in your soil, the main risk is ingestion of dust from that soil, and not from ingestion of plants that grow in it. Yes, plants that grow in it will uptake a bit, but that's not worth any concern. If you're worried about dust adhering to plants, well, just rinse off your stuff before you eat it, like we always do anyway. If there is serious lead pollution in that soil the risk is living there, and not eating food that is grown there. See also

https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/documents/lead-in-soil-aug2020.pdf

I should add that I have a large bed on a parking strip, next to a sixty year old roadway, and the soil lead content is substantially elevated, but not dangerously high. So I've dealt with this.

Don't rely on posts by posters who haven't done the research.

Incredible. You suggest that the EPA concludes there is not a risk with plant intake of lead... you say, " the risk is living there, and not eating food that is grown there."

Lead in Soil, EPA

Source

What kind of shop is this and how long has it been there?

The EPA actually funded the studies that I referred to. The EPA doesn't do any of its own horticultural studies. They contract that work out to these ag folks. When it comes to ag analysis, I trust the ag folks. Not the first time the EPA has been unaware of science results.

But it's interesting that the EPA source that is pointed at here never blames plant-absorbed lead as a risk. They advise not eating produce from lead contaminated soil. If you don't properly wash that produce, that would be smart. Washing of produce is the one produce-oriented recommendation they give to reduce lead exposure. That is, wash it before you eat it. Because where you'll be ingesting most of the lead is from soil dust adsorbed to the surfaces, and not from the plant material itself. If you garden in that soil, you'll ingest lead by breathing in the dust. So don't garden in it. If you live there, you will as well.

Odds are there was never a car in that shop that had lead paint on it. So it is important how long that shop was there. Unless they work on antiques.

When I was a kid, the three of us boys painted the house with lead paint on sale from Sears. Then I painted two of my uncles houses for $3 a day. I guess that was lead paint too; cause that's what they used. And we used leaded gas to clean our hands of the leaded paint.

But; I wouldn't buy this land. If you do buy it watch your fingernails as a lead indicator. In those days it was said to watch for elongated cuticles. I can't find that today but they all seem to indicate that your nails are an indicator. Google lead AND fingernails.

That's not quite right. As I said, lead was legislatively removed from RESIDENTIAL HOUSE PAINT several decades ago. Car paint manufacturers sort of bowed in that direction, but never eliminated it entirely. Lead was used for colorants, so white paint is entirely lead-free. Also, as I said, there is LOADS of lead in an auto repair shop from other sources. Chemical tests for lead are economically available. Sodium sulfide or sodium rhodizonate change color when exposed to lead. Just go online to find them. Don't wait for cuticles.

I should add that lead in soil is not highly mobile. It stays in one place, if not blown around. So if you buy this property, and want to spend a lot of time around lead-contminated garden soil, getting a layer of clean topsoil trucked in might be smart just to hold the lead dust down.

HU-199722256, you can always buy this land and live there and wear a 95N mask when outdoors; that will help protect you, especially when you disturb the soil.

Oh, and wear gloves.

And, make sure you strip-off the clothes you wore before coming into the house; and make sure you wash them properly. Or, you could have one of those full-coverage "suits" like a lot of our farmers wear over their regular clothes. Of course, leave your shoes/boots outside because the soil will be on them and you don't want to bring that inside. .

Not sure about lead dust, but it's well understood that a N95 mask won't protect you from asbestos. Particle mitigation gear uses much better stuff, like 100-series masks, which are a lot more expensive.

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/dosh_publications/N95-mask-questions.html

Gloves don't make a difference, since inorganic lead doesn't go through your skin. Lead in paint and metallic lead is inorganic. Methylated lead, like they used to use in gasoline, is organic. I don't believe you'll find any organic lead in an auto shop these days.

It is incredibly unlikely that lead is going to be an issue. The automotive industry stopped using lead for colorants in 1978 and even then it was only really used in red and orange coatings.

At 300 feet away you should be much more concerned about runoff and drainage directions than about aerosolized lead paint drifting on your land. You are likely to be exposed to more lead from any municipal water source than you are from an auto shop paint room that is 100 yards away. Busy roadways would likely be much worse.

If it were me, I would be much more comfortable if my garden were uphill from a busy auto shop, even if I was downwind.

I would check with the local EPA office and make sure that this company has been inspected and is filtering fumes appropriately. The current regulations require a filtration system filter out 98% of all toxins.

I believe there is still some lead in at least recent automotive paints. While lead in residential house paint was banned in 1978, such restrictions weren't imposed on consumer paint for other use until the 1990s. But as I say (over and over) there is LOTS more than paint in an auto shop that contains metallic lead. Again, as noted by the CDC, right now automobiles are STILL the main source of lead contamination in this country, even though leaded gas was banned long ago. It should be noted that such bans on leaded paints are not found internationally, so cars brought into the U.S. cannot be assumed to be lead paint-free.

Look, please don't take anyone's word for it about particulate distribution or what's likely or not likely. We have no idea about what this autoshop might have been doing a few decades ago with empty land out back. We have new residential areas here that back up on industrial sites, and they find all sorts of pollutants there, after the houses are built. The EPA has special grants to cities to go out and look for such sites. Just go out and DO a lead test for your own protection. But again, lead is largely not going to end up IN your veggies. That's also a very good point about checking with your local EPA office. They may have important info about this particular auto shop and the chemical history of your land as well.

Lacquers, with their lead colorants, were mostly phased out before the EPA ban. It It had nothing to do with the EPA ban, it was because lacquers were terrible on fiberglass. Even the Corvette of the 50’s had massive problems with red paint on the glass reinforced plastic.

In the early 1980’s only all steel cars, mostly trucks and Volvos, still used lead paint. Most automotive paints had already switched to varnishes and then polyurethanes.

Even then, for the lead paint to be an air quality problem a hundred yards away this would have to be an incredibly busy auto shop working on only classic cars. It’s is literally a heavy metal… it doesn’t like to stay aerosolized. Again, the OP is likely in far more danger of groundwater contamination from various engine lubricants and chemicals than they are from airborne lead paint.

So you agree that a few decades ago, lead colorants were still being used in some vehicles. But as I said, lead comes from autoshops in many forms. No question that groundwater contamination is another possibility. Ethylene glycol in antifreeze is not a particular threat in soil, but lead is often added to antifreeze. Chlorinated solvents are probably the most serious pollutants, health-wise. They don't biodegrade readily. Trichloroethylene is one that is very common in auto shops, doesn't biodegrade readily, at least in groundwater, and is a nasty carcinogen. Like lead, however, they are largely not taken up by plants. I don't have a clue how to test for those, though. Most auto lubricants are pretty biodegradable.

Again, these would be good questions for an EPA office.

It could also be that the shop isn't really an issue at all since the area has been farmland with no other buildings for over 80 years. A farmer would likely be as concerned about his crops as the home gardener is.

Let me clarify. I think it ceased to be "farmed" when the current owner bought the property almost 25 years ago. But it appears to have been "unused" in the time since then.

Fallow for a while then.

What kind of shop is it and how long has it been there?

It's currently a "collision repair and self storage" facility. I'm not sure what it's been in previous times. The property I'm looking at kind of wraps around the shop property on 3 sides. Their yard is fenced (chain link) and it looks like they keep it fairly tidy. Of course, I've noticed that collision shops always seem to look more "legit" and clean than generic auto repair shops do.

Be aware that if a scrappy repair company abuts onto a piece of unused land, they can consider that a dumping ground. You won't have a clue about that by looking at old pictures and proclaiming it "unused". I've seen it happen many times. Most superfund sites appeared to have been "unused" for many years. Those who know what they're dumping there sure won't be using it for anything else.

You could just go and ask them what they've done with that land, but I suspect that they wouldn't admit to anything illegal. You should certainly just walk around there and see if there is any garbage that looks like it might once have been a chemical container. The days of presuming that "unused" land next to industrial operations must be clean are long gone.

@3onthetree - great thoughts! It raises some interesting questions. Wondering what the highest and best use would be for the property.

The original question was about gardening, though I guess it was posted to a number of unrelated forums.

I think you should pass on the property 199722256. From the sounds of it, even if you did get the soil tested and it's just fine... you don't seeem comfortable with the business that is already existing there. It's unlikely that if you purchase the property that it will be a comfortable relationship between you and the neighbor you would be surrounding.

I spoke to one of the owners of the body shop. It's been in the family for over 40 years. Seem like decent people. They would love to buy the surrounding property and expand their business but the governing body for the area wants the land to be residential.

I'm not sure how I would feel if soil, ground water and air samples all came back with relatively benign toxicity results. But at this point, I do feel conflicted enough with what I do know, that I'm still looking for other options.

I think I connect with at least a part of every post that has been made here - thanks everyone! I really appreciate it. There have been lots of good comments and perspectives.