Abstract
Laboratory studies using metal spiked soils are challenging due to soil heterogeneity. This work provides an easy, quick, precise, and accurate technique for the preparation of spiked soils for laboratory research. The process described spiking soil with various uranium species and other heavy metals for laboratory scale pilot experiments under various biogeochemical conditions. The procedure involves grinding both dry soil and metal chemicals into the fine powder. The spiked soil mixture was further homogenized through a modified splitting and combining of the sample by diagonal flipping using plastic sheeting. Comparison of measured concentrations with theoretical values were obtained with <20% precision and accuracy. However, tradition spiking method with metal solution often yielded high heterogeneous spiked soils due to strong metal adsorption in soils. Re-drying and re-grinding of soils were required following the spiking in order to homogenize treated soils, generating inhalable particulates. Thus appropriate personal protective equipment and practices are required for the safety concern. The present method with metal salt powder proved a safe, useful, quick, accurate and precise, and homogenized soil spiking method.•ability to prepare spiked soil with multiple elements•prepared soil at any level of loading•the spiked soil was homogenous for controlled studies
Highlights
Soil pollution poses a significant risk to ecosystems and human health
The key to the success of such experiments is that the soil used in replicates and operational conditions is uniform to the extent so that statistically significant comparisons of the processes can be made
Use of field soils that are contaminated with multiple forms of metallic contaminants such as zero valent metals, metal oxides, and metal salts or multiple metal species with regards to oxidative or coordinative variability is challenging. These soils often require extensive particle size reduction and other homogenization processes in order to produce representative subsamples. Use of these processing steps often results in subsamples with homogeneous metal concentrations but biogeochemical properties that have changed significantly when compared to the original field sample [2]
Summary
Laboratory spiking process of soil with various uranium and other heavy metals Liangmei Chena,b, Steven L. Box 17910, Jackson, MS, 39217, USA b College of Resource and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, China c U.S Army Engineer Research and Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Rd., Vicksburg, MS, 39180-6199, USA
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