So a friend of mine was telling me that Advanced Nutrients has heavy metals in them.
If you go to this website.
https://apps4.cdfa.ca.gov/FertilizerProducts/
Choose 'Firm Name' -> 'Advanced Nutrients' then click on one of the products and it will give you some kind of analysis of the stuff in it. Loads of them show traces of some pretty scary sounding heavy metals.
It's a bit strange and I don't really understand it but would like to.
I checked Canna as well and even though they weren't as bad some showed heavy metals as well.
Thoughts?
That's a cool find, great link Happy!
Just some food for thought on the topic:
This is from
Advanced Nutrients website:
Highest Grade Ingredients
Advanced Nutrients uses pharmaceutical and technical grade raw materials to make our products... AND... we run tests multiple times each year to test for heavy metals and maintain the highest purity levels. What that means is that the raw materials sourced for our ingredients must meet a standard of purity and quality that is the highest presently achievable. This applies not only to the raw material as it appears in nature or in the lab, but to how its handled at every step along the way... from its original source, right to your bottle of Jungle Juice™ you buy in the store. Feed-Grade ingredients, by contrast, can be up to a 50/50 split of purity (even worse in some cases). That means half of the product may be a complete waste (and may pose a danger to you or your plants!). Pharmaceutical grade materials, like we use here at Advanced Nutrients, approach total purity so that... practically speaking, every milliliter of product you use is having its intended effect on the plants, each and every time. Also, it's guaranteed to be safe for your plant and more importantly, for your consumption.
Here is a quote taken from the
Minnesota Department of Health:
What are the health effects of arsenic?The health effects of arsenic depend on its chemical form, how much enters the body, how it enters the body, how long it stays in the body and the unique health situation of the person.
In nature, pure arsenic is rare. It is usually combined with other elements to form "compounds." Arsenic in compounds containing carbon is called "organic arsenic." When arsenic combines with other elements, such as oxygen, chlorine, or sulfur, it is called "inorganic arsenic." Arsenic in soil, rock, and water is often inorganic.
Usually, organic forms of arsenic are less harmful than inorganic forms. A one-time oral dose of 60,000 micrograms (µg) of inorganic arsenic is fatal for most people. Although this amount is about 1/50 the weight of a penny, it is very large compared to amounts naturally present in water, soil, food, or air. Most people consume about 6 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per day from food and water.
Human epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to relatively high levels of arsenic for many years causes skin problems and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers (e.g., skin, bladder and lung).
Arsenic also naturally occurs in small amounts in some of the foods we eat. About two-thirds of the arsenic in food is in the organic (less harmful) form. Organic arsenic is found in some foods like fish and shellfish. Rice and brown seaweed can contain very small amounts of the inorganic (harmful) form of arsenic.
There is no clear evidence that arsenic benefits humans in any way, but very small amounts are not likely to be harmful.
And another one from that link:
Are there health standards for arsenic?The EPA has set a limit of 0.01 parts per million (ppm) for arsenic in drinking water.
Levels of arsenic in soil from 5 ppm up to 20 ppm are generally viewed as safe, even if contact with arsenic at these levels continues for many years. If the level of arsenic in soil is within this range, the potential for any health effect is very small. In fact, contact with arsenic in soil even somewhat above these levels will likely have no health effects. However, if levels do exceed this range, another risk assessment may be done that looks specifically at the site being evaluated to determine what level will be safe for that particular situation.
As the level of arsenic increases, however, there is some slight increase in the likelihood of chronic health effects from contact over many years. This could include a very small increase in the risk of cancer, and cardiovascular disease. These diseases are widespread, have many risk factors and take many years to develop - - so the part that environmental exposure to arsenic plays in the risk of disease is generally quite small.
To decide what level of arsenic is safe for a specific site, risk assessors take into consideration many factors: how the site is used (for homes or industries), how people could come into to contact with arsenic (gardening, tracking into homes, eating soil), how it enters the body (breathing or swallowing), how much arsenic would enter the body (the dose), how the body handles arsenic and other ways (besides through soil) that people might also be coming into contact with arsenic.
While site specific clean up levels for arsenic in soil can fall within a range and still protect public health, contact with arsenic in soil at levels above 100 ppm is a threat to public health and requires action to prevent or reduce children’s contact with the contaminated soil. Above this level, if a large amount of arsenic is ingested at one time (such as by a child who intentionally eats soil) there could be health effects such as gastrointestinal distress and facial swelling.
I guess in my opinion; if you wanted to be a purist, go with something that comes back with zero traces of any of those heavy metals. If that doesn't bother you, those ppm (parts per million) amounts are incredibly small, nor do they accurately represent the heavy metal concentrations of your growing substrate, and most likely doesn't take into account the dilution from adding water to them. Toxic metals can be diluted into a solution, as immediate toxicity is a function of concentration rather than amount. Many of those heavy metals are naturally occurring and exist in nature in
much higher concentrations than what's listed on some of those nutrient bottles, while still falling under the acceptable guidelines of agencies like the EPA.
The problem with heavy metals is something called bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation is when your body takes in a substance faster than it can expel it.
This might not be the best example, but think about drinking alcohol. Let's say your body metabolizes one beer per hour. You drink a beer. The ethanol molecules are water soluble, so they easily enter the blood stream, quickly traveling through your body (and the liver (ohhhh my guts hurt!) and brain (heyyyy good lookin'!
) They are also fat soluble, which is like a golden ticket to Willy Wonky's Chocolate Factory, ie, cell membranes and otherwise off limit parts of your body.
The issue with those heavy metals is that they don't often metabolize quickly or at all. Some heavy metals will imitate actions of essential elements in the body, interfering with normal metabolic processes. Since different heavy metals have different biological half-lifes, or the time it takes for the metal to lose half it's pharma/physio/radiologic activity, the more exposure you have to them, the higher chance of accumulation in your body and the greater risk of problems with your health.
What I did find is that the minimum acceptable concentration levels of some of these metals varies between countries, and some of the metals don't appear to have a cut-off level with particular agencies.
Just my two cents brothers!
thats my two cents.be good everyone.:smoke: thats why Im hellbent on growing organic.
