USING VETIVER GRASS TO REMOVE LEAD FROM RESIDENTIAL SOILS OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: A SIMULATED FIELD STUDY Rupali Datta 1 , Dibyendu Sarkar 2 and Ramesh Attinti 2 1 Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 2 Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
29
Embed
USING VETIVER GRASS TO REMOVE LEAD FROM RESIDENTIAL SOILS OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS:
Rupali Datta 1 , Dibyendu Sarkar 2 and Ramesh Attinti 2. USING VETIVER GRASS TO REMOVE LEAD FROM RESIDENTIAL SOILS OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: A SIMULATED FIELD STUDY. 1 Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
USING VETIVER GRASS TO REMOVE LEAD FROM RESIDENTIAL SOILS OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS:
A SIMULATED FIELD STUDY
Rupali Datta1, Dibyendu Sarkar2 and Ramesh Attinti2
2Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
• CDC lowered the reference elevated blood lead level (EBLL) for children from 10μg/dL to 5µg/dL in 2012.• Soil and house dust in pre-
1978 homes are the principal sources of lead absorption among children.• Traditional methods of soil
remediation are expensive and unrealistic for residential soils.
Lead toxicity
http://www.epa.gov/lead/
Lead health effectsYoung children under the age of six are especially vulnerablelow levels • Reduced IQ • Learning disabilities • Attention deficit disorders • Behavioral problems • Stunted growth • Impaired hearing • Kidney damage
high levels• Mental retardation• Coma, and death • Juvenile delinquency and criminal behavior
Chelant Concentrations: EDTA and EDDS (0,5, 10, and 15 mM/ Kg soil)Experimental Duration: 70 days (Chelant addition to the soils at the end of 2nd month)
Experimental design
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 mM 5 mM 10 mM 15 mM
Chelant concentration (mM/kg)
Roo
t Tis
sue
Pb (m
g/kg
)
EDTAEDDS
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0 mM 5 mM 10 mM 15 mMSh
oot T
issue
Pb
(mg/
kg)
Chelant concentration (mM/kg)
EDTA
EDDS
Lead uptake by vetiver
A
B
C
D
a
bc
d
AB
C
D
a
b
cd
0
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
EDTA EDDSChelants added
Tota
l Pb
(mg/
kg)
0 mM5mM10 mM15 mM
Lead concentrations in soil
Conclusions: Phase I study
• Vetiver grass is a lead accumulator, and is effective in remediating lead-contaminated soils, in conjunction with chelating agents.
• Lead accumulation increased with increasing concentration of chelating agents, EDTA and EDDS.
• EDTA was more effective in increasing lead accumulation in vetiver compared to EDDS.
• Application of chelating agents significantly increased root to shoot translocation of lead on vetiver.
• Between 14-20% reduction in total soil lead was observed at the end of the study.
Phase II: Simulated field study
Lead paint contaminated soil samples were collected from San Antonio, TX from 9 house sites
Soil physico-chemical properties were analyzed.
A simulated field study was set up in San Antonio
Phase II: Simulated field studySoil Name pH Total Pb concentration
(mg/kg)
Sutton Dr 7.64 ± 0.02 48.38 ± 3.67
Edison Dr 7.38 ± 0.03 29.48 ± 2.84
W. Craig Pl 7.37± 0.06 2538.38 ± 219.63
Delmar 7.41 ± 0.03 1485.23 ± 110.88
Barrett Pl 7.64 ± 0.14 569.15 ± 15.80
Brighton 7.96 ± 0.13 400.88 ± 165.95
Ware Blvd 7.24 ± 0.02 587.66 ± 65.65
Bailey Ave
7.50 ± 0.04 1486.10 ± 70.66
Hackberry Ave 7.62± 0.04 2143.5 ± 114.21
All data are shown as mean (n=3) ± standard deviation
Experimental design• Wooden platforms (4’ x 3’ × I’) • 5 inches of play sand• 5 inches of contaminated soil• 2 platforms from each site• Vetiver grass• Fescue grass• No plant control
• Plants were grown for 3 months• 10 mmol/kg EDDS was applied • Soil, plant and leachate sample were
collected before and 15 d after EDDS application and analyzed for lead.
Vetiver and fescue grass platforms
EDDS application
Soil Erosion from Platforms
S. No Soil Erosion (Kg)
1 Vetiver platform Bailey 0.05
Craig 0.06
3 Hackberry 0.08
4 Fescue grass platform Craig 0.18
5 Bailey 0.14
6 Hackberry 0.21
7 Control (no plant) platform
0.62
Plant uptake: EDDS application
Bailey W.Craig Hackberry0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Shoot before EDDSShoot after EDDSRoot before EDDSRoot after EDDS
San Antonio soils
Pb in
vet
iver
tiss
ues
(mg/
kg)
Bailey W.Craig Hackberry0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Shoot before EDDSShoot after EDDSRoot before EDDSRoot after EDDS
San Antonio soilsPb
in fe
scue
tiss
ues
(mg/
kg)
Plant uptake: EDTA application
Bailey W.Craig Hackberry0
50
100
150
200
250Shoot before EDTA
Shoot after EDTA
Root before EDTA
Root afterEDTA
San Antonio soils
Pb c
once
ntra
tion
in v
etiv
er ti
ssue
s (m
g/ k
g)
Bailey W.Craig Hackberry0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16 Shoot before EDTAShoot after EDTARoot before EDTA Root after EDTA
San Antonio soilsPb
con
cent
ratio
n in
fesc
ue ti
ssue
s (m
g/ k
g)
Effect of lead on grasses
Percent removal after five cycles
Bailey Craig Hackberry0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0VetiverFescue
Perc
ent r
emov
al
Lead leaching from compost
S. No Soil name Pb in Vetiver Compost (mg/L)
Pb in Fescue grass Compost (mg/L)
1 Bailey 0.85 ± 0.04 0.16 ± 0.05
2 W. Craig 0.69 ± 0.03 0.12 ± 0.04
3 Hackberry 1.14 ± 0.08 0.22 ± 0.03
Conclusions: Phase II study• Vetiver grass performed well during Phase II, and
showed no phytotoxic symptoms. • Yellowing and growth inhibition was seen in control
fescue grass.• Compared to fescue grass, vetiver accumulated 35-50
times higher concentration of lead.• After five cycles of chelating agent application,
between 18-22% of the soil lead was reduced.• The concentration of lead in the decomposed
clippings from vetiver and fescue grass were significantly lower than the USEPA TCLP limit of 5 mg/L for lead. Hence, grass clippings can be safely disposed as non-hazardous waste.
• Lead technical studies program of Housing and Urban Development