Topic
Soil contamination
About: Soil contamination is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 23018 publications have been published within this topic receiving 602844 citations. The topic is also known as: soil pollution.
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01 Apr 1990
TL;DR: In this article, the origin of heavy metals in soils is discussed, and methods of analysis for heavy metal analysis in soils are presented, as well as the potential environment significance of less abundant elements.
Abstract: General principles. Introduction. Soil processes and the behaviour of heavy metals. The origin of heavy metals in soils. Methods of analysis for heavy metals in soils. Individual elements. Arsenic. Cadmium. Chromium and nickel. Copper. Lead. Maganese and cobalt. Mercury. Selenium. Zinc. Other less abundant elements of potential environment significance. Appendices.
4,025 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the range of heavy metals, their occurrence and toxicity for plants, and their effects on the ecosystem is discussed, where the authors focus mainly on zinc, cadmium, copper, mercury, chromium, lead, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, manganese and iron.
Abstract: Metal contamination issues are becoming increasingly common in India and elsewhere, with many documented cases of metal toxicity in mining industries, foundries, smelters, coal-burning power plants and agriculture. Heavy metals, such as cadmium, copper, lead, chromium and mercury are major environmental pollutants, particularly in areas with high anthropogenic pressure. Heavy metal accumulation in soils is of concern in agricultural production due to the adverse effects on food safety and marketability, crop growth due to phytotoxicity, and environmental health of soil organisms. The influence of plants and their metabolic activities affects the geological and biological redistribution of heavy metals through pollution of the air, water and soil. This article details the range of heavy metals, their occurrence and toxicity for plants. Metal toxicity has high impact and relevance to plants and consequently it affects the ecosystem, where the plants form an integral component. Plants growing in metal-polluted sites exhibit altered metabolism, growth reduction, lower biomass production and metal accumulation. Various physiological and biochemical processes in plants are affected by metals. The contemporary investigations into toxicity and tolerance in metal-stressed plants are prompted by the growing metal pollution in the environment. A few metals, including copper, manganese, cobalt, zinc and chromium are, however, essential to plant metabolism in trace amounts. It is only when metals are present in bioavailable forms and at excessive levels, they have the potential to become toxic to plants. This review focuses mainly on zinc, cadmium, copper, mercury, chromium, lead, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, manganese and iron.
2,898 citations
TL;DR: The biodegradation of PAHs has been observed under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions and the rate can be enhanced by physical/chemical pretreatment of contaminated soil.
2,482 citations
TL;DR: It is highlighted that both adults and children consuming food crops grown in wastewater-irrigated soils ingest significant amount of the metals studied, however, health risk index values of less than 1 indicate a relative absence of health risks associated with the ingestion of contaminated vegetables.
1,951 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a hypothesis is formulated to explain how microorganisms may become affected by gradually increasing soil metal concentrations and this is discussed in relation to defining safe or critical soil metal loadings for soil protection.
Abstract: An increasing body of evidence suggests that microorganisms are far more sensitive to heavy metal stress than soil animals or plants growing on the same soils. Not surprisingly, most studies of heavy metal toxicity to soil microorganisms have concentrated on effects where loss of microbial function can be observed and yet such studies may mask underlying effects on biodiversity within microbial populations and communities. The types of evidence which are available for determining critical metal concentrations or loadings for microbial processes and populations in agricultural soil are assessed, particularly in relation to the agricultural use of sewage sludge. Much of the confusion in deriving critical toxic concentrations of heavy metals in soils arises from comparison of experimental results based on short-term laboratory ecotoxicological studies with results from monitoring of long-term exposures of microbial populations to heavy metals in field experiments. The laboratory studies in effect measure responses to immediate, acute toxicity (disturbance) whereas the monitoring of field experiments measures responses to long-term chronic toxicity (stress) which accumulates gradually. Laboratory ecotoxicological studies are the most easily conducted and by far the most numerous, but are difficult to extrapolate meaningfully to toxic effects likely to occur in the field. Using evidence primarily derived from long-term field experiments, a hypothesis is formulated to explain how microorganisms may become affected by gradually increasing soil metal concentrations and this is discussed in relation to defining “safe” or “critical” soil metal loadings for soil protection.
1,887 citations