Progress in assisted natural remediation of an arsenic contaminated agricultural soil.
A contaminated soil was collected in a field adjacent to a derelict As((III)) smelter in Reppel (Bocholt, Belgium). A single soil treatment (% by soil weight) based on either iron grit (SS, 1%), beringite (B, 5%), or iron grit (1%) + beringite (5%) (BSS) was applied. Untreated and treated Reppel soils and a control soil were placed in lysimeters inside a greenhouse and cropped annually. The efficiency of soil treatments in decreasing As and metals in exposure sources and restoring soil functions was assessed 6 years after the treatments commenced. Decreases in extractable Cd, Mn, Zn and As occurred in the BSS soil. Only BSS treatment reduced both As and metal concentrations in leachates. BSS treatment produced best growth of lettuce and cabbage, the highest shoot and pod yields for dwarf bean, the lowest As, Cd and Zn concentrations in plant tissues, and partly restored Rhizobium nodulation on bean roots. The epigeic earthworm (Dendrobaena octaedra) could only survive in the BSS soil. Depurated living worms from the BSS soil had Cd concentration similar to those in control worms, but higher As, Ca, Fe, and Zn concentrations. Based on physiologically based extraction test (PBET), As bioaccessibility was reduced from 12% (untreated soil) to 7.4% (BSS) and 3% (SS), but only the SS treatment decreased the bioaccessibility of Cd (-30%) and Pb (-35%). The range of chemical and biological indicators suggested that BSS amendment was the most effective treatment for restoration of normal soil functions 6 years after initial treatment of the Reppel soil.
Mench
Michel
M
UMR BIOGECO INRA 1202, Ecologie des Communautés, Université Bordeaux 1, Bât B8 RdC Est, porte 2, Avenue des Facultés, F-33405 Talence, France. mench@bordeaux.inra.fr <mench@bordeaux.inra.fr>
Vangronsveld
Jaco
J
Beckx
Caroline
C
Ruttens
Ann
A
D000383:Agriculture; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D007887:Fabaceae; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007501:Iron; D008274:Magnesium / Q000032:analysis; D008669:Metallurgy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D003313:Zea mays; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D052638:Particulate Matter; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C436844:beringite; D002104:Cadmium; D007501:Iron; D008274:Magnesium; D015032:Zinc; D001151:Arsenic