title: Quantification of Cr(VI) in soil samples from a contaminated area in northern Italy by isotope dilution mass spectrometry.
abstract: The aims of the work were to detect and quantify hexavalent chromium in 14 soil samples from an area in Lombardia (northern Italy) contaminated by two polluted water plumes. Cr(VI) was extracted from the solid samples by applying focused microwaves in an alkaline medium after Cr(III) complexation with EDTA. Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) when previously reported extraction conditions for the analysis of certified reference materials were used, and Cr(VI) could not be reliably quantified in the soil samples. The influence of organic matter and iron contents in the samples on the reduction of Cr(VI) was subsequently studied using a new set of soil samples with different iron and organic matter concentrations. Isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) measured two different enriched stable isotopes of Cr (54 and 53) to evaluate the reduction extent of hexavalent chromium during the analytical procedure. The extraction conditions were optimized to obtain the lowest amount of Cr(VI) reduction and quantify Cr(VI) in the polluted soil samples from Lombardia.
authors.affiliation: Facoltà di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Istituto di Chimica Agraria ed Ambientale - Università Cattolica di Piacenza, via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122, Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guidotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Julián Clavería 8, 33006, Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Queipo Abad
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Julián Clavería 8, 33006, Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Oviedo, Julián Clavería 8, 33006, Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: J Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: García Alonso
authors.affiliation: Facoltà di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Istituto di Chimica Agraria ed Ambientale - Università Cattolica di Piacenza, via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122, Piacenza, Italy. gian.beone@unicatt.it.
authors.forename: Gian Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Beone
mesh_terms: D002857:Chromium / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D060587:Groundwater / Q000737:chemistry; D007558:Italy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002857:Chromium; C074702:chromium hexavalent ion
keywords: Chromium speciation; Environmental pollution; Hexavalent chromium; Human health; Isotope dilution mass spectrometry; Soil