California Residents Warned Not To Eat Anything From Their Gardens

Residents in Martinez have been warned against eating food from their own gardens after the Martinez Refining Company released toxic metal dust throughout the community. According to KRON4, this is not the first time that the company has released toxic dust, it's just the first time that they've reported it to Contra Costa Health Services. Local Heidi Taylor has taken up "container gardening" as a way to avoid consuming these toxins.

“Just this morning, a friend of mine was asking me about gardening advice, and she wants to plant a garden with her young children. Oh my god, don’t put it in the soil. The first thing I said to her was, "'you better have a container."' This is container gardening time now because of what they did.” A team of toxicologists have been hired by the county to evaluate the soil surrounding Martinez Refining Company. County public health director Dr. Ori Tzvieli told KRON4 that this is just one of the steps being taken to "remediate the situation."

“We’re looking basically to see if there’s evidence of contamination, where it is, how deep it is and if yes, what needs to be done to remediate the situation. So, until we know, we really recommend not eating food grown in soil that’s been exposed to the spent catalyst." The toxins are still under investigation.