soil pollution and reclamation

3
Preface Soil Pollution and Reclamation The collection of papers presented in this special issue is an outcome of the SSS4.3 Session, Soil Pollution and Reclamation: Advances in Data, Experiments and Applicationof the International European Geosciences Union (EGU) Conference held in Vienna, April 2013. Soils are a natural valuable resource with peculiar ltering, buffering and energy transforming properties, a reserve of genes and groundwa- ter, a source of plant nutrition and a basis of human activities. The soil quality must therefore be preserved and its sustainable use encouraged. However, the increased concentration and distribution of potentially toxic substances (PTS) in soils by mismanagement of industrial and mining activities, increasing trafc, overuse of agrochemicals and waste disposal are causing worldwide concern. The monitoring of the soil quality is sometimes difcult, since the toxicity of PTS does not only depend on their concentration but also on their form or species. Moreover, the soil system is heterogeneus, varied, and spacially and temporally (i.e. drying and wetting cycles) dynamic. This complexity means that the monitoring, assessment and reclamation of polluted soils (both localized and diffused pollution) is not easy. New data about the fate and behaviour of pollutants in different soil types are nec- essary, especially from remote areas or with scarce information. Further studies about local baseline and threshold values of pollutants are ur- gent. Innovative eld and laboratory methods, including new experi- ments and modelisation that provide credible data are desirable to obtain realistic results in situ, on site and ex situ technologies. Obviously, gentle and economical methodologies of site reclamation (i.e. bioreme- diation and phytoremediation) would be preferable. This special issue contains 27 papers written by authors from 19 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines. Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation and Spain. This collection of original studies focuses mainly on seven topics: 1) mining activities, 2) mining waste waters, 3) plant tolerance and phytostabilization of minesoils, 4) edible crops and phytoremediation, 5) urban soils, 6) parent material, soil properties and heavy metals pollution and 7) soil organic pollution. There are ve papers dealing with the rst topic, mining activities: Acosta el al. evaluated the environmental risk of three reclaimed mining ponds using the electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) method, an- alyzing their properties, total, DTPA extractable and water soluble metals. Total Pb, Cd and Zn concentrations exceeded the allowed values. Therefore, it was necessary to reduce their bioavailability through im- mobilization. The authors concluded that according to the ERI method, two ponds experienced water erosion and metal mobility. These tailing areas needed to be recovered to minimize these two problems. They also veried that the bedrock did not present any discontinuity which could allow the transport of heavy metals to deeper horizons. Forján et al. carried out an experiment in plant pots amended soils from the settling pool from a copper mine located in Touro (NW Spain). Different wastes such as solid urban waste, sludge from a bleach factory, sludge from a purication plant and others were used. The majority of the mine soils improved their condition, but the sludge from the purication plants is not recommended. The amended mine soils with the aforementioned wastes cannot be used for agricultural purposes. Bes et al. determined physico-chemical parameters, trace element concentrations, solubility, speciation and ecotoxicity of soils from two different sites within the mining district of La Unión-Cartagena (SE Spain) to assess the environmental risk of a possible dissemination of pollutants. The authors found that these soils were very toxic for differ- ent plant species and for aquatic organisms. They proposed remediation to reduce the environmental risk. Liénard et al. evaluated the level and extent of heavy metals contam- ination in soils collected within 3 km of a former Zn-Pb ore treament plant. They used statistical tools to investigate the potential factors inuencing the spatial distribution of the various metals. The authors found that Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations are mainly driven by an- thropogenic factors and that distance, land use and soil type contribute to metal distribution and availability in soils. García-Lorenzo et al. present a methodology based on availability in- dices to assess the environmental potential risk of soils contaminated by mining activities affected by different conditions. The methodology con- sists of selective chemical extractions. The authors found that the highest mobility ocurred in acidic media and under anoxic conditions. Moreover, they suggest that the presence of soluble salts increases the mobility of potentially toxic elements. Three papers in this special issue refer to the second topic, mining waste waters: Martínez-Sánchez et al. evaluated the signicant contamination by uranium series radionuclides along the estuary formed by the Tinto and Odiel rivers, Huelva (SW Spain). The authors complemented the chemical analyses with bioassays to characterize the risks posed by con- taminated sediments mainly by the leaching from phosphogypsum, a waste product of the phosphoric acid production process, which is rich in radionuclides. Jiang et al. studied the effects of untreated wastewater discharges from mining factories on soil metal pollution and enzyme activities in northern Hunan province (Central South China). Rice grain produced in the polluted elds irrigated by these mineral wastewaters is enriched in Cd and other metals. Soil enzyme activities and microbial biomass are highly inhibited. Statistical anlysis indicated that deshidrogenase activ- ity and microbial biomass carbon could be used as eco-indicators of heavy metal pollution in soils. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 147 (2014) 7779 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2014.11.001 0375-6742/© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Geochemical Exploration journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jgeoexp

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Page 1: Soil Pollution and Reclamation

Journal of Geochemical Exploration 147 (2014) 77–79

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Geochemical Exploration

j ourna l homepage: www.e lsev ie r .com/ locate / jgeoexp

Preface

Soil Pollution and Reclamation

The collection of papers presented in this special issue is an outcomeof the SSS4.3 Session, ‘Soil Pollution and Reclamation: Advances inData, Experiments and Application’ of the International EuropeanGeosciences Union (EGU) Conference held in Vienna, April 2013.

Soils are a natural valuable resourcewith peculiar filtering, bufferingand energy transforming properties, a reserve of genes and groundwa-ter, a source of plant nutrition and a basis of human activities. The soilquality must therefore be preserved and its sustainable use encouraged.However, the increased concentration and distribution of potentiallytoxic substances (PTS) in soils by mismanagement of industrial andmining activities, increasing traffic, overuse of agrochemicals andwaste disposal are causing worldwide concern. The monitoring of thesoil quality is sometimes difficult, since the toxicity of PTS does notonly depend on their concentration but also on their form or species.Moreover, the soil system is heterogeneus, varied, and spacially andtemporally (i.e. drying and wetting cycles) dynamic. This complexitymeans that the monitoring, assessment and reclamation of pollutedsoils (both localized and diffused pollution) is not easy. New dataabout the fate and behaviour of pollutants in different soil types are nec-essary, especially from remote areas or with scarce information. Furtherstudies about local baseline and threshold values of pollutants are ur-gent. Innovative field and laboratory methods, including new experi-ments and modelisation that provide credible data are desirable toobtain realistic results in situ, on site and ex situ technologies. Obviously,gentle and economical methodologies of site reclamation (i.e. bioreme-diation and phytoremediation) would be preferable.

This special issue contains 27 papers written by authors from19 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Chile, China, CzechRepublic, Denmark, Germany, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon,Peru, Philippines. Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation and Spain.This collection of original studies focuses mainly on seven topics:1) mining activities, 2) mining waste waters, 3) plant tolerance andphytostabilization of minesoils, 4) edible crops and phytoremediation,5) urban soils, 6) parent material, soil properties and heavy metalspollution and 7) soil organic pollution.

There are five papers dealing with the first topic, mining activities:Acosta el al. evaluated the environmental risk of three reclaimed

mining ponds using the electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) method, an-alyzing their properties, total, DTPA extractable and water solublemetals. Total Pb, Cd and Zn concentrations exceeded the allowed values.Therefore, it was necessary to reduce their bioavailability through im-mobilization. The authors concluded that according to the ERI method,two ponds experienced water erosion and metal mobility. These tailingareas needed to be recovered to minimize these two problems. Theyalso verified that the bedrock did not present any discontinuity whichcould allow the transport of heavy metals to deeper horizons.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2014.11.0010375-6742/© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Forján et al. carried out an experiment in plant pots amended soilsfrom the settling pool from a copper mine located in Touro(NW Spain). Different wastes such as solid urban waste, sludge from ableach factory, sludge from a purification plant and others were used.The majority of the mine soils improved their condition, but the sludgefrom the purification plants is not recommended. The amended minesoils with the aforementioned wastes cannot be used for agriculturalpurposes.

Bes et al. determined physico-chemical parameters, trace elementconcentrations, solubility, speciation and ecotoxicity of soils from twodifferent sites within the mining district of La Unión-Cartagena (SESpain) to assess the environmental risk of a possible dissemination ofpollutants. The authors found that these soils were very toxic for differ-ent plant species and for aquatic organisms. They proposed remediationto reduce the environmental risk.

Liénard et al. evaluated the level and extent of heavymetals contam-ination in soils collected within 3 km of a former Zn-Pb ore treamentplant. They used statistical tools to investigate the potential factorsinfluencing the spatial distribution of the various metals. The authorsfound that Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations are mainly driven by an-thropogenic factors and that distance, land use and soil type contributeto metal distribution and availability in soils.

García-Lorenzo et al. present amethodology based on availability in-dices to assess the environmental potential risk of soils contaminated bymining activities affected bydifferent conditions. Themethodology con-sists of selective chemical extractions. The authors found that thehighest mobility ocurred in acidic media and under anoxic conditions.Moreover, they suggest that the presence of soluble salts increases themobility of potentially toxic elements.

Three papers in this special issue refer to the second topic, miningwaste waters:

Martínez-Sánchez et al. evaluated the significant contamination byuranium series radionuclides along the estuary formed by the Tintoand Odiel rivers, Huelva (SW Spain). The authors complemented thechemical analyseswith bioassays to characterize the risks posed by con-taminated sediments mainly by the leaching from phosphogypsum, awaste product of the phosphoric acid production process, which isrich in radionuclides.

Jiang et al. studied the effects of untreated wastewater dischargesfrom mining factories on soil metal pollution and enzyme activities innorthern Hunan province (Central South China). Rice grain producedin the polluted fields irrigated by thesemineral wastewaters is enrichedin Cd and othermetals. Soil enzyme activities andmicrobial biomass arehighly inhibited. Statistical anlysis indicated that deshidrogenase activ-ity and microbial biomass carbon could be used as eco-indicators ofheavy metal pollution in soils.

Page 2: Soil Pollution and Reclamation

78 Preface

Heidarzadeh et al. researched the removal of Pb, Zn andCd from syn-thetic mining waste waters by maghemite (У-Fe2O3) nanoparticles atlaboratory scale using a response surface method based on the Box-BehnkenDesign. The effects of pH, temperature, initial heavymetal con-centration and adsorbent dosage on the removal efficiency of heavymetals were evaluated. The observed selectivity order was: Pb N ZnN Cd. Results indicated that maghemite nanoparticles can be used asan effective adsorbent for effluent decontamination in Pb-Zn miningwastewaters.

Three papers deal with the third topic, plant tolerance andphytostabilization of minesoils:

Lago-Vila et al. studied the phytoavailable content of metals in soilsfrom copper mine tailings in Touro (Galicia, NW Spain). The effective-ness of some extractants in predicting the availability of heavy metalsin plants of the affected area was evaluated. The best extractant wasCaCl2. Erica cinerea L. is mainly an accumulator of Mn and Cu, but alsoof Ni and Zn. E. cineria is a suitable species for the recovery and stabili-zation of soils form the Cu mine.

Corrales et al. investigated the possible role of phytochelatins (PCs)in Antimony Tolerance of clover. For this purpose, Trifolium pratenseL. and Trifolium repens were exposed to different antimoniate concen-trations. Tolerance to Sb was assessed using relative root elongation,vital staining and malondialdehyde production. The tolerance was alsoanalyzed in plants treated with BSO, an inhibitor of synthesis. Resultsfrom this study did not support a role for PCs in the high Sb toleranceof clover.

Santos et al. evaluated the simultaneous influence of different appli-cation rates of amendments and growth of Cistus ladanifer L. on chem-ical and biological characteristics of gossan mine wastes.Phytostablisation with C ladanifer using a Technosol resulting fromthe studied amendements (mixtures of rockwool, agriculture wastesand waste from liquor of Arbutus unedo L. fruits) at 75 and 150 Mg/hato gossan materials seems a promising solution for the rehabilitationof this type of mine wastes.

Three papers cover the fourth topic, edible crops andphytoremediation:

Huiying et al. evaluated the trace metal pollution in soil and ediblecrops from Pb-Zn smelting areas in Huixian County (NW China). Thecauses of the dispersion of pollution were the wastewater irrigationand wind transport of dust. There is a significant correlation betweensoil properties andmetal pollution. The order of accumulation in plantswas Cd N Zn N Cu N Pb. High concentrations have been found in maize,Ainsliaea, goosegrass herb and poplar. Pb and Cd were a potential riskto local inhabitants.

Spiandorello et al. analyzed soils and foodcrops (wheat and maize)from a tannery district in NE Italy to determine the content of majorand micro nutrients and potentially toxic elements. The results showedthat these soils are moderately polluted, mainly by Cr, Ni, Cu and V. butthese metals did not accumulate in the seeds of the two mentionedfoodcrops. Therefore, there is no health risk for animal breeding andfor the population due to consumption of the foodcrops grown in thearea.

Nadimi-Goki et al. determined the total soil and plant elements inrice-based production systems in the Venetian territory (NE Italy) to es-tablish the background levels, assess possible contamination of soils andrice and calculate the translocation factor from soils to plant and possi-ble hazards for human health. The authors found that paddy soils arehighly contaminated by Li and Tl. Rice can be assumed as an excluderplant and useful for the restoration of contaminated soils.

Five papers deal with the fifth topic, Urban soils:Galuskova et al. studied the Pb isotope compositions and fourteen

risk elements in soils of urban parks of industrial Ostrava and residentialPrague. Lower 206Pb/207Pb ratios in Prague soils reflect higher traffic im-pact,while higher ratios in Ostrava correspond to bituminous coal burn-ing andmetallurgical activities. Less radiogenic Pb in the upper soil layer(0-10 cm) came from leaded gasoline and Pb from coal burning

predominate in the deepest layer (20-30 cm). The largest contents orrisk elements were found in soils under tree crowns. Another conclu-sion was that the most significant input of metals occurred before theend of the 1990s.

Doichinova et al. focused their work on the mobile forms of poten-tially toxic elements extracted by 1 M NH4OAC at pH 7 to determinetheir bioavailability for oak ecosystems in urban forest parks in Sofia(Bulgaria). Strong correlations were found between mobile forms ofCu, Zn, Pb and Cd in Urbic Anthrosols and their content in oak leaves,and with soil pH, CEC and texture. They found that the most mobile el-ement in soils is Cd.

Tume et al. determined the occurrence and concentrations of As, Cr,Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in school yard soils from the port city of Talcahuano(Chile). 76 soil samples from 38 school yards were collected, processedand analyzed by ICP-emission spectrometry following aqua regia diges-tion. The median concentrations (mgkg−1) obtained include: As 6(range 1-24), Cr 29 (14-253), Cu 40 (11-190), Ni 30 (7-79), Pb 26.5(3-349) and Zn 172 (29-1865). The proportion of anomalous concentra-tions was the largest for Zn an Cr. The authors estimated that 34% of theschool yards had a great probability of contamination.

Chung et al. assessed the level of Hg contamination in Ulaanbaatar(UB), Mongolia. Soil and dust samples collected from 33 sites withinand around the city were analysed for Hg following USEPA Method7473. The result of Hg contamination assessment was classified as‘moderately polluted’ according to the indices of ‘geoaccumulationindex (Igeo)’ and ‘enrichment factor (EF)’. There is a clear relation be-tween the concentration level of SO2 and Hg, so it can be proposedthat the coal combustion by power plants and in homes is the mainsource of Hg emission in UB.

V.A. Alekseenko and A.V. Alekseenko reported considerable dataabout the abundances of chemical elements for the soils of urban land-scapes. The figures were established by the authors on the base of aver-age concentrations of chemical elements in the soils of more than 300cities around the world. The data was obtained directly by the authorsafter 15 years of studies and compiled from the literature. Theestablished abundances may change gradually.

Four papers cover the sixth topic on parent material, soil propertiesand heavy metals pollution:

Bou Kheir et al. used GIS and regression-tree modeling to quantifythe relationships between Ni, Cr, Cd and As and 16 environmental pa-rameters (parent materials, slope gradient, surroundings of wasteareas, nearness to cities, etc) in the soils of Northern Lebanon. In thisway they detected the most important parameters that can be used asweighted input data in soil pollution prediction models. The strongestrelationships were associated with Cd and As, followed by Ni and Cr.

Ramos-Miras et al. studied the influence of parent material and soiluse on As forms in top soils from the Amblés Valley (Ávila, Spain). Thegeochemical baseline of total As contents was established and the rela-tionships between the concentration of the different As forms and prop-erties were investigated. The total As content in soils was related toparent material and soil properties, whereas human activity favoursAs mobility. The As origin is geogenic, and these soils were notcontaminated.

Mirzaei et al. determined the Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn contents of 346topsoils of the Golestan Province (Northern Iran). Pollution assessmentwas performed by a pollution index and an integrated pollution index.The potential harmful effects were evaluated by the Potential EcologicalRisk Index Method, Kernel density estimation and Local Moran’s I. Theanthropic metal input is related to mining, farming and vehicle emis-sions. The authors concluded that moderate and high potential ecologi-cal risk covered about 90% of the Golestan Province.

Mendoza-Grimon et al. studied the trace and major element (aquaregia digestion) relationships in tephra soils of El Hierro Island (CanaryIslands, Spain) in order to distinguish allocthonous contributions. Theparent materials are basaltic in composition, with chemical tendenciesto ultrabasic and trachytic rocks. It was found that only soil Cd levels

Page 3: Soil Pollution and Reclamation

79Preface

were above those predicted by parent materials. Anthropic influencewas revealed by the association of P and Cd. The results could not sup-port the likely influence of Saharian dust.

Four papers constitute the seventh topic, Soil organic pollutants:Pinedo et al. performed a preliminary assessment of soil contamina-

tion by hydrocarbon storage activities in Cantabria (Northern Spain) bymeans of a Source-Pathway-Receptor approach. This model reduces thenumber of exploratory investigated sites, establishing those posing po-tentially higher risks to be contaminated. The potential hazard of thesource is established bymeans of amixed additive andmultiplicative al-gorithm. This method reduces about 90% the number of studied sites.The stepwise risk assessment procedure enables the selection of themost contaminated sites in a cost and time efficient way.

Kalbe et al. used percolation columns to test soils contaminatedwithtotal petrol hydrocarbons (TPH), perflourinated surfactants (PFC) andbiocidetebuconazole. Differences in the leaching behaviour are mainlydriven by partitioning behaviour between organic carbon and waterwhich can be estimated from KOW values and size and shape of mole-cules. The authors found that the leachingbehaviour of these substanceswas comparable to lysimeter test results. Repeatability was adequateeven for low eluate concentrations. Column tests are a reliable tool forsoils polluted with a variety of organics.

Bulmau et al. assessed the concentration levels for different PAHsspecies present in pyrolysis products after the treatment of contaminat-ed soils samples using a horizontal tubular reactor. The amount of theorganic contaminants was determined using a GC/MS analyser andSoxhlet extractionmethod. The results revealed that pyrolysis is an effi-cient process for the removal of the PAHs from contaminated soils. At650 °C the efficiency of the thermal process ismore than 80% performedduring 30minutes. After 60minutes, the decontamination efficiency in-creased to more than 90%.

Rosales et al. studied the subsoil in three former petrol stations inMurcia (SE Spain), by electrical resistivity (ERT). Subsurface sampleswere analyzed in order to establish their physicochemical characteriza-tion and hydrocarbon contamination assessment. Headspace and gaschromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to quantifythe volatile organic compounds in subsurface by in situ measurementsusing a portable photoionization detector. The authors found evidenceof vertical movement of organic compounds and that the adsorptionof hydrocarbons in the subsoils tended to be pH and clay contentdependent.

This Special Issue is focused on themost recent findings, state of theart developments in the knowledge of the origin and modalities of soil

pollution,monitoring and assessment aswell as experiments and appli-cations for the reclamation of polluted soils. All the papers includedcover important aspects of fundamental and applied research, and pro-vide advances in relation to existing knowledge. One should also remarkthe high impact that the Journal of Geochemical Exploration has in ourresearch area, since every outstanding result that has appeared in thelast few years has been thoroughly presented.

Acknowledgements

I would firstly like to thank the Co-Guest Editors Prof. Dr. ElenaKorobova, Vernadsky Insitute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemis-try, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation), Prof.Dr. Maria Manuela Abreu (Instituto Superior de Agronomía,Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, TU Lisbon, Portugal), Prof. Dr. ClaudioBini (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Venice, Ven-ice, Italy), Prof. Dr. Hyo-Taek Chon (Department of Energy ResourcesEngineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea), Prof. Dr.Cármen Pérez-Sirvent (Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia,Spain) for their crucial and excellent collaboration. Morevoer, I wouldlike to thank the authors for their contributions and patience with thereview process, as well as the reviewers. Their efforts have improvedthe quality of this Special Issue. The language assistance of A. Young isgreatly appreciated. I am also extremely grateful to Prof. Dr. BenedettoDe Vivo and Prof. Dr. Robert Ayuso, Editors-in-Chief of the Journal ofGeochemical Exploration, to Kreeti Saravanan, Journal Manager and toHou Yanping, Publishing Content Specialist, without whose wisdomand experience this Special Issue could not have been published.

Jaume BechManaging Guest Editor

Soil Science Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona (UB),Avda. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia Spain

Correspondong author.E-mail address: [email protected].

Elena KorobovaManuela Abreu

Claudio BiniHyo-Taek Chon

Cármen Pérez-SirventGuest Editors