Cleanup goals for sites affected by inorganic contaminants often are established on the basis of risk assessments, and these assessments rely on the estimated oral toxicity of the substances of concern. These toxicity estimates typically are based on historical studies in which a soluble salt of the metal was dissolved in water or mixed in food and then ingested by an animal or human. However, these toxicity studies do not account for the characteristics of a metal in soil or the limitations that these characteristics place on enteric absorption of that metal. Therefore, a more accurate risk assessment must account for the bioavailability of the metal in site-specific soil, relative to the bioavailability of the metal in the form administered in the toxicity study (i.e., the relative bioavailability of the element in soil). Historically, relative bioavailability estimates for metals in soil have been based on in vivo studies in laboratory animals. Given the costs and time constraints associated with such ...

Advances in evaluating the oral bioavailability of inorganics in soil for use in human health risk assessment

The environmental risk from soil lead (Pb) is related to its bioavailability. Soil Pb bioavailability depends on the solubility of Pb solid phases and other site-specific soil chemistry, suggesting that in situ stabilization of soil Pb can be accomplished by changing soil Pb chemistry. This paper presents a review of soil Pb bioavailability and an evaluation of in situ stabilization methods that can be used to reduce Pb bioavailability. A promising in situ approach involves the amendment of Pb-contaminated soil with phosphorus (P) in various forms or P with other amendments. Two general categories of P are insoluble forms, such as phosphate rock or synthetic apatites, and soluble forms typically present in commercially available fertilizer products or phosphoric acid. Numerous indirect assessment techniques show marked reductions in soil Pb biovailability upon addition of P and other amendments to Pb-contaminated soils. The techniques include physiologically based extraction tests, plant uptake of Pb, and other soil Pb extraction methods. More directly, animal feeding studies also show reductions in soil Pb biovailability. In situ stabilization of soil Pb using P and other soil amendments is an emerging technology integrating soil chemistry, agricultural practices, and engineering that is gaining public and regulatory acceptance. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 23: 78–93, 2004

Soil Lead Bioavailability and in Situ Remediation of Lead-Contaminated Soils: A Review

The bioaccessible fraction of metals in the stomach has been estimated for two soil materials using laboratory synthesized gastric juice. Heavy metals present in each soil matrix were extracted and measured, as a technique to simulate metal solubilization processes that occur in the human stomach. The results from the synthetic gastric juice extraction were compared to values obtained using a modified EPA concentrated acid extraction procedure, method 3051, on the same soils. The experiments evaluated the effect of varying the liquid to solid ratio on gastric juice extraction efficiency for arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb). Soil samples employed were a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard soil (Montana SRM 2710) and a composite hazardous waste contaminated soil from Jersey City, NJ. The current work demonstrates that bioaccessibility is not the same for each metal within a given soil, nor between the soils. Estimates of the bioaccessible fract...

Bioaccessibility of Metals in Soils for Different Liquid to Solid Ratios in Synthetic Gastric Fluid

In vitro and in vivo approaches for the measurement of oral bioavailability of lead (Pb) in contaminated soils: a review.

Lead (Pb) bioaccessibility was assessed using 2 in vitro methods in 12 Pb-contaminated soils and compared to relative Pb bioavailability using an in vivo mouse model. In vitro Pb bioaccessibility, determined using the intestinal phase of the Solubility Bioaccessibility Research Consortium (SBRC) assay, strongly correlated with in vivo relative Pb bioavailability (R(2) = 0.88) following adjustment of Pb dissolution in the intestinal phase with the solubility of Pb acetate at pH 6.5 (i.e., relative Pb bioaccessibility). A strong correlation (R(2) = 0.78) was also observed for the relative bioaccessibility leaching procedure (RBALP), although the method overpredicted in vivo relative Pb bioavailability for soils where values were <40%. Statistical analysis of fit results from X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) data for selected soils (n = 3) showed that Pb was strongly associated with Fe oxyhydroxide minerals or the soil organic fraction prior to in vitro analysis. XANES analysis of Pb speciation during the in vitro procedure demonstrated that Pb associated with Fe minerals and the organic fraction was predominantly solubilized in the gastric phase. However, during the intestinal phase of the in vitro procedure, Pb was strongly associated with formation of ferrihydrite which precipitated due to the pH (6.5) of the SBRC intestinal phase. Soils where Fe dissolution was limited had markedly higher concentrations of Pb in solution and hence exhibited greater relative bioavailability in the mouse model. This data suggests that coexistence of Fe in the intestinal phase plays an important role in reducing Pb bioaccessibility and relative bioavailability.

In Vivo-in Vitro and XANES Spectroscopy Assessments of Lead Bioavailability in Contaminated Periurban Soils

The purpose of this study was to assess the oral bioavailability of lead in soil collected from a former smelter site in Sandy, Utah, USA. Sprague-Dawley rats (approximately 4 weeks of age, 5 of each sex in group) were given either soil lead or lead acetate mixed in a purified diet (AIN-93G ™) at four different concentrations for 31 consecutive days. Food consumption measurements were used to compute mean daily lead exposures for the soil lead and lead acetate groups. The lead acetate treatment yielded higher concentrations of lead in the blood and bone than the soil lead treatment. Mean blood lead values ranged from below the detection limit (3 μg dL−1) to 27.25 μg lead dL−1 for the lead acetate groups at dose levels of 0.10–2.91 mg lead kg body weight−1 and from below the detection limit to 8.8 μg lead dL−1 for the soil lead groups at doses of 0.11–3.43 mg lead kg body weight−1. At these same doses, mean bone values ranged from 0.52 to 26.92 μg lead g−1 for the lead acetate groups and from 0.64 to 13.1 μg lead g−1 for the soil lead groups. Relative per cent bioavailability was estimated by modelling the dose-blood concentration curves for the lead acetate treatment and the dosed soil lead treatment, and then comparing doses that produce an equivalent blood lead concentration. The ratio of the doses of lead acetate and soil lead that produced the same tissue response (i.e., concentration) provided an index of relative bioavailability. For lead, the bioavailability of soil lead relative to lead acetate was 41% at a blood concentration of 6 μg lead dL−1.

Vincent Keller

Papers

An assessment of lead absorption from soil affected by smelter emissions.