Health benefits of 'grow your own' food in urban areas: implications for contaminated land risk assessment and risk management?

Compelling evidence of major health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and outdoor interaction with 'greenspace' have emerged in the past decade - all of which combine to give major potential health benefits from 'grow-your-own' (GYO) in urban areas. However, neither current risk assessment models nor risk management strategies for GYO in allotments and gardens give any consideration to these health benefits, despite their potential often to more than fully compensate the risks. Although urban environments are more contaminated by heavy metals, arsenic, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins than most rural agricultural areas, evidence is lacking for adverse health outcomes of GYO in UK urban areas.

An investigation into the effects of silver nanoparticles on antibiotic resistance of naturally occurring bacteria in an estuarine sediment.

The aim of this study was to test whether silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) released into estuarine environments result in increased antibiotic resistance amongst the natural bacterial population in estuarine sediments. A 50-day microcosm exposure experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of Ag-NPs (50 nm average diameter) on the antibiotic resistance of bacteria in sediments from an estuary in southwest England. Experimental microcosms were constructed using 3.

Impact of silver nanoparticle contamination on the genetic diversity of natural bacterial assemblages in estuarine sediments.

Recent advancements in the nanotechnology industry have seen a growing interest in integrating silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) into consumer and medical products. To date, there has been little research into the toxicological impact that Ag-NPs will have when they enter the marine realm. Of particular concern are the possible effects of Ag-NPs on natural bacterial assemblages, given the antimicrobial activity of silver.