Effect of chemical amendments on reduction of bioavailable heavy metals and ecotoxicity in soil

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution in soil has been concerned because of toxicity in ecosystem and adverse effect on human health. Main objective of this study was to examine reduction of bioavailable heavy metals and consequently, decrease of ecotoxicity to biota when chemical amendments were applied in soil. Three chemical amendments, acid mine drainage sludge (AMDS), lime stone (LS), and steel slag (SS) were applied with varied application ratio (1, 3, 5%) in heavy metal polluted soil and bioavailable fraction of heavy metal was monitored. In addition, ecotoxicity test using earthworm (Eisenia fetida) was conducted for 28 days examining mortality, weight increase, and bioaccumulation of heavy metal in the earthworm. Result showed that AMDS was the most efficient amendment for reducing bioavailable heavy metals in soil while SS showed the least efficiency. Reduction ratio of bioavailable-As, Cd, and Pb was ranged 39.0–92.0% depending on application ratio and heavy metal species for AMDS application. However, only bioavailable-Pb was reduced at the range between 39.1% and 56.5% when SS was applied in soil. In contrast, the lowest concentration of As, Cd, and Pb and ecotoxicity effect in the earthworm was observed in SS treatment indicating that exposure route of heavy metals or particle size of amendments might effect on uptake of heavy metals to the earthworm. Overall, ecotoxicity test in combination with chemical concentration monitoring is a useful tool for evaluating remediation efficiency of heavy metal polluted soil.