Abstract
Lead is recognized as one of the most widespread toxic metal contaminants and pervasive environmental health concerns in the environment. In this paper, the effects of nano-hydroxyapatite (NHAP) on remediation in artificially Pb-contaminated soils and ryegrass were studied in a pot experiment. The addition of NHAP decreased the water- and acid-soluble, exchangeable, and reducible fractions of Pb, extracted using the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) method, whilst greatly increasing the residual fraction of Pb. Oxidizable Pb was increased slightly. No significant increase in soil pH was caused by the application of NHAP. Compared to conditions without NHAP, the addition of NHAP decreased the Pb content in ryegrass shoots and roots by 13.19–20.3% and 2.86–21.1%, respectively. Therefore, the application of NHAP reduced the mobility and bioavailability of Pb in the soil. In addition, the application of NHAP improved the fresh weight of shoots and roots, and promoted the growth of ryegrass. NHAP played a positive role in stimulating ryegrass to secrete tartaric acid.
Highlights
Soil pollution by heavy metals has become a serious concern in many developing countries due to intense industrialization and urbanization
Our previous work studied the effect of 0.5% (w/w) NHAP on Pb-polluted soil, and the results showed that NHAP reduced the Pb contents of ryegrass [14]
It has been reported that conventional hydroxyapatite can react with Pb to form chloropyromorphite during the sequential extraction process [23]
Summary
Soil pollution by heavy metals has become a serious concern in many developing countries due to intense industrialization and urbanization. Heavy metals are more complex than other environmental pollutants because they can be toxic to all living organisms. They are not biodegradable and tend to accumulate in tissues [1]. Lead is recognized as one of the most widespread toxic metal contaminants and pervasive health concerns in the environment [2]. It is generated from the natural weathering of rocks and industrial activities, including mining and lead ore smelting, lead-acid battery manufacturing, lead-based paints, etc. The development of remediation strategies for Pb-contaminated soils is very important for human health and ecological protection
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