The influence of environmental pollution with fluorine compounds on the level of fluoride in soil, feed and eggs of laying hens in Central Pomerania, Poland

Elżbieta Bombik,Katarzyna Rymuza,Antoni Bombik

doi:10.1007/s10661-020-8143-3

Elżbieta Bombik, Katarzyna Rymuza + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8143-3

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Abstract

The present study was aimed at evaluating fluorine contamination of the eggs of free-ranging laying hens in Northern Poland, in the Central Pomerania region, in relation to the distance from the emission sources. Fluorine levels in the soil, feed, and the shells, and contents of the eggs were assayed with the potentiometric method using an ion-selective electrode from ORION Ion Meter. The sampled eggs were subjected to pressure microwave digestion with the use of a Milestone MLS-1200 microwave. All the samples were digested in 5 ml of supra-pure grade concentrated HNO3 from Merck. The mean level of fluorine in the studied soils ranged from 3.79 mg kg−1 of DM in typical river alluvial soil to 126.19 mg kg−1 of DM in lessive soil. The study revealed an average fluorine content in the feeds administered to the hens on the farms in zone 1 (17.29 mg kg−1 of DM), it being 3.5 times higher than the corresponding content in zone 2 (4.92 mg kg−1 of DM). A statistically significantly higher mean fluorine level was identified in the eggshells of hens on zone 1 farms, located closer to the pollution emission sources (17.52 mg kg−1 of DM), the value being more than 3-fold higher than that in zone 2 (5.47 mg kg−1 of DM). The present study revealed an almost twice as high fluorine mean content in the hen eggs collected on farms in zone 1 (1.488 mg kg−1 of DM) compared with the hen egg contents in the experimental zone 2 (0.640 mg kg−1 of DM), the difference being statistically significant.

Highlights

IntroductionTheir steadily growing presence in the environment requires constant monitoring
The analyses were conducted in Northern Poland, in Central Pomerania, in the vicinity of the Vistula, Łeba and Słupia estuaries, at different distances from the emission sources constituted by Rafineria Gdańska (Gdansk Refinery), Gdańskie Zakłady Nawozów Fosforowych (Gdańsk Phosphorus Fertilizer Plant), Elektrociepłownia Wybrzeże (Wybrzeże Combined Heat and Power Plant), Stocznia Gdańska (Gdańsk Shipyard), Keramzyt Gniew
The lowest mean fluorine level was found in the typical river alluvial soil (3.79 mg kg−1 of DM), and the highest, almost 30-fold higher in comparison with the luvisol, in the lessive soil (126.19 mg kg−1 of DM)

Summary

Introduction

Their steadily growing presence in the environment requires constant monitoring. Soils fertilised with superphosphate often accumulate fluorine in the tilth. Contamination of soil with fluorine leached from phosphogypsum stacks is a global environmental issue (Wang et al 2018). Fluorine can be found in the surface layer of industrially contaminated soils. The overall fluorine content in the soil largely depends on the type of host rock. Influenced by the growing fluorine contamination of the soil, the content of calcium and magnesium in analysed plants diminishes (Szostek and Ciećko 2017a). The natural range of fluorine content in Poland is 20–63 mg kg−1 in sandy soils, 168–

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