title: Assessing the Legacy of Red Mud Pollution in a Shallow Freshwater Lake: Arsenic Accumulation and Speciation in Macrophytes.
abstract: Little is known about long-term ecological responses in lakes following red mud pollution. Among red mud contaminants, arsenic (As) is of considerable concern. Determination of the species of As accumulated in aquatic organisms provides important information about the biogeochemical cycling of the element and transfer through the aquatic food-web to higher organisms. We used coupled ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to assess As speciation in tissues of five macrophyte taxa in Kinghorn Loch, U.K., 30 years following the diversion of red mud pollution from the lake. Toxic inorganic As was the dominant species in the studied macrophytes, with As species concentrations varying with macrophyte taxon and tissue type. The highest As content measured in roots of Persicaria amphibia (L.) Gray (87.2 mg kg(-1)) greatly exceeded the 3-10 mg kg(-1) range suggested as a potential phytotoxic level. Accumulation of toxic As species by plants suggested toxicological risk to higher organisms known to utilize macrophytes as a food source.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH Edinburgh), Bush Estate , Penicuik EH26 0QB, Scotland, United Kingdom.|School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh , Crew Building, Alexander Crum Brown Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Justyna P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Olszewska
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast , Belfast BT9 5HN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Meharg
authors.affiliation: School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh , Crew Building, Alexander Crum Brown Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kate V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Heal
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast , Belfast BT9 5HN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Manus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH Edinburgh), Bush Estate , Penicuik EH26 0QB, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Iain D M
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Gunn
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH Edinburgh), Bush Estate , Penicuik EH26 0QB, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kate R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Searle
authors.affiliation: Lake Ecosystems Group, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH Lancaster), Lancaster Environment Centre , Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ian J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Winfield
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH Edinburgh), Bush Estate , Penicuik EH26 0QB, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Bryan M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Spears
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D020387:Food Chain; D060106:Lakes; D010944:Plants
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic