Arsenic in soil and vegetation of a contaminated area

Abstract

Plant and soil samples were collected from one uncontaminated and four contaminated sites (in the Dashkasan mining area western Iran). Total and water-soluble arsenic in the soil ranged from 7 to 795 and from 0.007 to 2.32 mg/kg, respectively. The highest arsenic concentration in soil was found at the ore dressing area (up to 1,180 mg/kg) and lowest at an uncontaminated area (up to 11 mg/kg). A total of 49 plant species belonging to 15 families were collected from four sampling sites. A significant positive correlation was detected between the concentrations of arsenic in plant dry matter and those in soils. The highest arsenic concentrations were found in Hyoscyamus kurdicus Bornm. (up to 205 mg/kg) and Helichrysum oligocephalum DC. (up to 162 mg/kg). These two accumulator species could have potential for soil clean-up by phytoextraction. The data have been compared with those for the Zarshuran mining area (north-western Iran) obtained in a former study.

Uptake, assimilation and toxicity of cyanogenic compounds in plants: facts and fiction

“…Phytoremediation, in contrast to other biology-based methods, has received considerable attention in remediating sites polluted with low to moderate levels of contamination (Akguc et al 2010;Cheng et al 2011;Ling et al 2011;Dubey and Shiwani 2012;Sreekanth et al 2013). As a natural, pumpand-treat system, phytoremediation is one of the very few technologies that can address a diverse range of media and contaminants simultaneously (Kord et al 2010;Ashraf et al 2011;Hegazy et al 2011;Dede et al 2012;Parween et al 2012;Karimi et al 2013). Indeed, a number of plants from three continents and climate zones have been identified to transport and assimilate free cyanide and iron cyanides, and capability highly relies on their genetic traits of plants (Ebbs et al 2003;Yu et al 2004;Larsen et al 2005;Ebel et al 2007).…”

Remediation of heavy metal contaminated ecosystem: an overview on technology advancement

“…The levels of arsenic and lead in bitter leaf and garden egg leaf exceeded WHO maximum limit. Karimi et al (2013) have collected plant and soil samples from uncontaminated and contaminated sites of the Dashkasan mining area, western Iran. Total and water-soluble arsenic in the soil ranged from 7 to 795 and from 0.007 to 2.32 mg kg -1 , respectively.…”

Investigating the elevated arsenic concentrations in the Gold Ridge tailings storage facility surface water

“…The fern is of particular interest in this case, because it is highly consumed. Ferns are also known to accumulate arsenic such as the brake fern, Pteris vittata (Karimi et al, 2013;King et al, 2008). The brake fern has been found to accumulate arsenic concentrations of 1442 -7526 mg kg -1 in its leaves/fronds in arsenic contaminated soil while it can accumulate 27,000 mg kg -1 in water cultures (Santra et al, 2013).…”

“…The topography of the dam is then reshaped to prevent pooling before adding any soil. Remediation of soils that are heavily contaminated by metals is a challenge for mining companies due to the magnitude of remediation and associated cost (Karimi et al, 2013) and is also dependent on what the agreed end land use is and the part of the mine that needs to be rehabilitated such as the TSF, RWD, WRD or plant site. The usual practice of rehabilitation especially at closure would be to ensure that any potential acid forming (PAF) material is encapsulated by non-acid forming (NAF) material with some degree of soil cover and capping and finally establishment of vegetation upon engineering and insertion of topsoil.…”

“…Phytostabilisation (Appendix E) -with phytostabilisation, certain plant species are used which can immobilise the contaminants in the soil via adsorption and accumulation by roots. By adsorption onto roots and what is termed as precipitation within the root zone metals/metalloids are thereby stabilised so they cannot be removed via groundwater, run-off or even wind (Karimi et al, 2013;Padmavathiamma and Li, 2007;King et al, 2008) 2. Phytovolatisation (Appendix F) -By phytovolatilisation, metals and metalloids such as arsenic, mercury and selenium are adsorbed through the soil and then biologically converted into gaseous forms within the plant and released (Padmavathiamma and Li, 2007).…”