Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Arbutus Greenway, Vancouver
Bixin Lin, MLWS 2019
From 1902 to 2001, Vancouver’s Arbutus Greenway served as a railway for regional freight and interurban passenger transport service. In March 2016, the City of Vancouver purchased the Arbutus Corridor from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) built this corridor into a greenway.
The overall aim of this study was to provide an evaluation of potential heavy metal contamination along a recently de-commissioned railroad track in Vancouver and a particular section that has a history of small scale raised bed community gardens. This study focuses on Vancouver transportation corridor, the Arbutus Greenway, as a case study. Five random sites were selected in Zone 1 of the Arbutus Greenway. The pH, ash content and heavy metal concentration of the soil were determined. The metals Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were selected as important in relation to human exposure.
