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Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 13584

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Dr. Erkai He

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Guest Editor

School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Interests: heavy metal; soil remediation; effect assessment; immobilization; bioavailability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Hao Qiu

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Guest Editor

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: sustainable remediation; green technology; trace element; toxicity; model
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We all depend on soil for a wide diversity of ecosystem services, for the production of food and water (provisioning service), for the control of climate and disease (regulating service), for global elemental cycles (supporting service), and for spiritual and recreational benefits (cultural service). Unfortunately, soil is a fragile resource. Anthropogenic activities are increasingly causing soil degradation and a decline in biodiversity which, in turn, threatens to diminish the capacity of the earth to sustain us. Often, soil can become contaminated with trace elements due to either accidental or deliberate release. In this Special Issue, we are therefore highly interested in contributions related to soil pollution control and sustainable remediation technology. In particular, we encourage our peers to submit their studies exploring the behavior, fate, bioavailability, and effects of typical metals in soil before and after remediation. We welcome all the topics that promote a qualitative and/or quantitative understanding of chemical and biological processes involved in the remediation of contaminated soils.

Dr. Erkai He
Dr. Hao Qiu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

soil remediation
heavy metal
bioavailability
model
toxicity
risk assessment

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1974 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Living with Contamination: Insights into an Epigeic Macrofaunal Community in an Area Extremely Polluted by Risk Elements

by Jakub Hlava, Pavla Vachová, Jiřina Száková, Vladimír Vrabec, Štěpán Kubík, Pavel Tlustoš, Iva Langrová and Martin Kulma

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4243; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15054243 - 27 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1157

Abstract

Five meadows along the Litavka River highly contaminated with heavy metals from mining were sampled for insects and spiders using pitfall traps. The sites are in the Příbram region of central Bohemia, Czechia, which was previously reported as one of the most polluted areas in Europe due to intensive mining and metal processing. The determination of pseudo-total risk elements in soil revealed that all the sampled sites were contaminated with heavy metals, especially As, Cd, Pb, and Zn, with levels ranging from moderate to extreme. The trap results showed a total of 1142 beetles from 21 species, 946 ants from 16 species, 548 spiders from 28 species, and 96 harvestmen from 3 species. With the exception of the scabrous ground beetle, Carabus scabriusculus, all captured specimens were species common to the wet meadows and forest edges of Czechia. With respect to species richness, the dominant spider and beetle taxa were less abundant at the heavily polluted locations than at the moderately polluted locations. In the case of ants, however, there was no relationship between contamination level and abundance or species richness. Thus, it is worthwhile recording and analyzing the differential changes in abundance of the dominant spider and beetle species in polluted areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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24 pages, 2644 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Distribution of Metallic Elements among Humus Substances in Soil from Volcanic Rocks

by Melánia Feszterová and Michal Hudec

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16427; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142416427 - 08 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1211

Abstract

The ability of humus substances to form stable complexes with inorganic and organic soil constituents plays a vital role in the generation of environmental pollution, migration, and pollutants transformation. This paper deals with the study of the sorption of metallic elements (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Mg, Zn) in Andosols, Cambisols, and Planosols on Slovak soil types based on the detection of the quality and quantity of humus substances and soil textural properties. Five soil profiles from two areas in the central part of the Western Carpathians on volcanic rocks in Slovakia were investigated. HS values increased with Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, and Mg. Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, K, Mn, Cu, and Zn increased with the FA fraction. Al, Ca, Fe, K, and Mg were increasing with increasing HA values. In the HA fraction, a very tight relationship was among K and Fe contents (r = 0.902). In the FA fraction, we found with increasing Cu content, Ca content also increased (r = 0.959). The HS values were positively correlated with the silt and negatively correlated with the clay and the sand fraction. Only the elements Mn and Zn in Planosol were below the detection limit. High concentrations of metallic elements were in Andosol. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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10 pages, 667 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Bentonite Addition on the Speciation and Mobility of Cu and Ni in Soils from Old Mine Tailings

by Yongping Gao and Xiaojun Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10878; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141710878 - 31 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1025

Abstract

Bentonite has important applications in curbing soil heavy metal pollution. Jinchang city is an important industrial city in western China, and the mining activities in this area inevitably lead to the heavy metal pollution of soil; in particular, the maximum concentrations of Ni and Cu in the soil exceeded the standard by 30 and 25 times, respectively. In this study, we conducted soil cultivation experiments to study the effects of bentonite addition (BA) on the fractions of the heavy metals Ni and Cu in an old tailings area of Jinchang city. Surface soil (0–20 cm) samples were collected, and Ni and Cu fractionation was performed using the Tessier sequential extraction method. The results showed that residual (R) was the main fraction of Ni and Cu, which accounted for 53% and 57% of their total amounts, respectively. The fraction bound to organic matter (BM), bound to Fe-Mn oxides (BO), bound to carbonates (BC), and the exchangeable (E) accounted for 20% and 16%, 18% and 12%, 6%, and 7%, 3% and 4% of the total amounts, respectively. Their contents ranked in the order: R > BM > BO > BC > E. Each fraction of Ni and Cu decreased with increasing levels of BA. The proportion of E of Ni and Cu was considerably reduced, while the proportion of BO and R increased significantly following the BA. BA can significantly reduce the mobility of Ni and Cu. Our findings indicated that BA can significantly reduce the biological toxicity and mobilization of heavy metals in polluted soil, which can be recommended as a safe stabilizer for heavy metal pollution in soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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20 pages, 5391 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geochemical Speciation, Risk Assessment, and Sources Identification of Heavy Metals in Mangrove Surface Sediments from the Nanliu River Estuary of the Beibu Gulf, China

by Bo Chen, Renqiang He, Pingxiong Cai, Guiqiu Huang and Feng Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9112; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159112 - 25 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1781

Abstract

To better understand heavy metal pollution and the potential ecological risk of mangrove sediments in the Nanliu River estuary, the speciation and distribution characteristics of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Zn, Co, Ni, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb in 13 surface sediments in the study area were determined and analyzed using a modified four-step BCR extraction method, and the ecological risk of heavy metals was assessed using the Geo-accumulation Index (I_geo), Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI), Risk Assessment Code (RAC), Pollution Load Index (PLI), Individual contamination factors (ICF) and Global contamination factor (GCF) methods, and source analyses were performed using correlation analysis and cluster analysis. The results showed that the heavy metal was in the order of Fe > Mn > Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Co > Ni > Cd. Except for Fe, Zn, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Co, the average heavy metal content of Mn, Cd, and Cu all exceeded the environmental background value; the Fe, Zn, Co, Ni, Cr, Cu, and Pd are mainly in the residual speciation, while Mn and Cd are mainly weak acid extraction and oxidation, respectively, both of which are predominantly in unstable speciation and are easily released into the environment. Mn and Cd pose a substantial ecological risk, while Cu and Pb present a moderate risk and require precaution. The source analysis results indicate that Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cr, and Pb are most likely to originate from natural sources and the transportation industry, Co and Cu are likely to be mainly from ship manufacturing industrial activities, and Cd is likely to be mainly from agriculture and aquaculture. The GCF and PLI results show that places with high heavy metal enrichment and ecological risk are primarily located in areas with high industrial, agricultural, or human activity impacts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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17 pages, 10325 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Direct Shear Strength Characteristics in Unsaturated Compacted Soil Surface Coverage on Pb(II)-Polluted Tailings Reservoir under Low Normal Stress

by Yong Li and Zhenqi Hu

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9035; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159035 - 23 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1196

Abstract

Mining activities generate a large amount of solid waste called tailings, and it often contains a certain number of heavy metals, depending on the different types of minerals. To avoid disasters caused by the diffusion of tailings and their infiltration into surface water, mines often use tailings ponds as a surface coverage structure. This study mainly focused on the shear strength of surface coverage isolation layer soil under low normal stress. The soil isolation layers with different values of dry bulk density, water content, bentonite content, and Pb(II) ion concentration were treated with direct shear strength under normal stress at 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 kPa. It was found that when the dry bulk density was increased from 1.1 g/cm³ to 1.3 g/cm³, the shear strength increased by 49.3%~117.2%, and when the water content was decreased from 24% to 16%, the shear strength increased by one to three times. With the addition of bentonite in proportions from 18% to 30%, shear strength increased by 1.9 to 116.9 kPa, and the degree of improvement was related to both dry bulk density and water content; the specimens with bentonite added were more sensitive to Pb(II) ion concentration, and when the specimen with 24% bentonite addition was compared with the specimen without the addition of bentonite, both under a Pb(II) ion concentration of 5 mg/L, the shear strength decreased by 8.1~35.6 kPa, the internal friction angle decreased by 0.5~9.7°, the cohesion force decreased by 5.8~37.7 kPa, and the shear modulus decreased by 5~12 kPa/mm. Therefore, in order to maintain good mechanical properties in the surface covering structure, it is necessary to maintain a high dry bulk density, low water content, and bentonite content of no less than 24%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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14 pages, 1175 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Land Snail, Eobania vermiculata, as a Bioindicator of the Heavy Metal Pollution in the Urban Areas of Sulaimani, Iraq

by Aso H. Saeed H. Salih, Abdullah A. Hama, Karzan A. M. Hawrami and Allah Ditta

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13719; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132413719 - 12 Dec 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3689

Abstract

Land snails are crucial consumers in the terrestrial environment and beneficial significant bioindicators to evaluate the chemical impact in the ecosystem, especially on urban lands. The present study aimed to investigate the concentration of heavy metals such as As, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn in urban soil and study whether Eobania vermiculata acts as a bioindicator for heavy metal contamination in an urban area. Thirty soil and snail samples in triplicate from each sampling site were taken from the urban areas of Suliamani. After a microwave-assisted digestion procedure, every sample was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Results showed that the concentration of chromium (Cr) in each snail sample was significantly high. The maximum Cr concentration (15.87 mg kg⁻¹) was recorded in the snail sample collected from Ali Kamal Park, which was adjacent to a very crowded traffic road. The As concentration in snail samples ranged from 0.08 to 1.004 mg kg⁻¹, and it was below the permissible limits. However, the concentrations of heavy metals in urban soil locations were below their background measurements, except for nickel (Ni) which was above the permissible limits. The safest site in the study area was Chaviland 1, while the most contaminated site was the Ha-wary Shar Park. The snails bioaccumulated metals in their tissues in the following order, Cr > Zn > Ni, and this bioaccumulation occurred more on the main road locations, which represented potentially contaminated places due to anthropogenic activities. Moreover, there was no correlation among the heavy metals within the soil samples when compared to the similar metals in the snail samples, due to the low concentration of heavy metals in soil, excluding Ni, from where the snail samples were collected. Consequently, the land snail, E. vermiculata, is an appropriate sentinel organism for some metals, mainly for Cr, and the bioindicator monitoring with this snail should be extended to mixtures of heavy metals, since such relationships frequently occur in soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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22 pages, 3493 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Potential Role of Bacillus altitudinis MT422188 in Nickel Bioremediation from Contaminated Industrial Effluents

by Zarka Babar, Maryam Khan, Ghayoor Abbas Chotana, Ghulam Murtaza and Saba Shamim

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7353; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137353 - 30 Jun 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2374

Abstract

The incessant pervasiveness of heavy metals in the environment is one of the precursory factors of pollution. This research study was endeavored upon to investigate the bioremediation potential of a nickel (Ni)-resistant bacterial isolate, identified as Bacillus altitudinis MT422188, whose optimum growth parameters were demonstrated at pH 7, temperature 32 °C, and 1 mM phosphate. Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and EC₅₀ for Ni were observed to be 20 and 11.5 mM, respectively, whereas the cross heavy-metal resistance was discerned as Cu²⁺ (25 mM) > Zn²⁺ (15 mM) > Cr⁶⁺ (10 mM) > Pb²⁺ (5 mM) > Co²⁺ (8 mM) > Cd²⁺ (3 mM) > Hg²⁺ (0 mM). Ni biosorption studies by live and heat-killed bacterial cells were suggestive of Ni uptake being facilitated by an ATP-independent efflux system. A pilot-scale study displayed the effective removal of Ni (70 mg/L and 85 mg/L) at 4- and 8-day intervals, respectively. Moreover, chemotaxis and motility assays indicated the role of Ni as a chemoattractant for bacterial cells. The presence of Ni reduced the GR (0.001 ± 0.003 Ug⁻¹FW), POX (0.001 ± 0.001 Ug⁻¹FW), and SOD (0.091 ± 0.003 Ug⁻¹FW) activity, whereas Sodium dodecyl sulphate—Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed the presence of metallothionein (60 kDa). Kinetic and isotherm studies suggested a pseudo second-order and Freundlich model to be better fitted for our study. The thermodynamic parameters (∆H° = 3.0436 kJ/mol, ∆S° = 0.0224 kJ/mol/K) suggested the process to be endothermic, spontaneous, and favorable in nature. FTIR analysis elucidated the interaction of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups with Ni. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) demonstrated changes in the morphological and elemental composition of the bacterial cells, which affirmed their interaction with Ni during biosorption. In summary, our study concludes the efficient role of Bacillus altitudinis MT422188 in removing Ni from polluted industrial effluents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Remediation, and Risk Assessment)

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