title: Tungsten distribution in soil and rice in the vicinity of the world's largest and longest-operating tungsten mine in China.
abstract: The objective of this study is to investigate tungsten (W) contamination in soil and its enrichment in rice in the area of the world's largest and longest-operating W mines in China. Root zone soil and rice plants were sampled at 15 sites in the agricultural field adjacent to W mines and analyzed for Al, Fe, Mn, Sc, and W contents and W chemical forms in the soil samples and W contents in the rice root, stem, leaf, and grain samples. Results showed that W content in the soil ranged from 3.99 to 43.7 mg kg(-1), with more than 90% of W in the residual fraction, showing its low mobility and bioavailability. Average W contents in the rice root, stem, leaf, and grain were 7.06, 2.34, 4.76, 0.17 mg kg(-1), respectively. In addition, they were linearly independent of W content and chemical forms in the soil. Average enrichment factor values were 0.39, 0.13, 0.28, and 0.01 for the root, stem, leaf, and grain, respectively. In can be concluded that W mining activity in the Dayu county contaminated the nearby agricultural soil and led to W bioaccumulation in the rice. This may pose a health risk to residents via food and soil ingestion, which should be a focus of scrutiny.
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chunye
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ruiping
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hongguang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Use, China Land Surveying and Planning Institute, Ministry of land and Resources, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D008906:Mining; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014414:Tungsten / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014414:Tungsten