To the editor:

While fully supporting the idea of city-owned gardens (Journal-World., Feb. 7), I must offer some caution on the implementation of this worthwhile scheme. Cities are the sites of nucleated activities, many of which result and have resulted in high depositions of contaminants, including a host of heavy metals that are incorporated in plant reproductive parts (the parts that we eat).

These chemicals are not evenly distributed over the urban area. Therefore, one must conduct a land use historical study to see what might be deposited on site, a quantitative chemical analysis of the soil within the rooting zone and an assessment of which crops would be affected by the uptake of the demonstrated pollutants. We don’t want to poison our children for a good idea poorly applied.