Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 405, Issue 1-3, Pages 14-25Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.07.066
Keywords
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Phytoextraction; Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs); Uptake pathway; Phytoremediation; Field study
Categories
Funding
- OCE [ENV03REM06]
- NSERC Collaborative Research Development
Ask authors/readers for more resources
An in situ field investigation into the potential of PCB phytoextraction by Cucurbita pepo ssp. pepo (pumpkin) plants was continued for a second year at a field site known to be contaminated with a mixture of Aroclors 1254 and 1260 (average soil [PCB] = 21 mu g/g). Plant stem and leaf PCB concentrations in this second field season (11 and 8.9 mu g/g, respectively) were observed to increase significantly from the stem and leaf PCB concentrations reported in the previous year (5.7 and 3.9 mu g/g, respectively) while the total biomass produced as well as soil and plant root PCB concentrations did not change. Furthermore, the lower stems of some plants exhibited PCB concentrations as high as 43 mu g/g, resulting in bioaccumulation factors (where BAF(plant) (part) = [PCB](plant part)/ [PCB](soil)) for parts of the plant shoot as high as 2. increased planting density was observed to significantly decrease both plant biomass and plant stem PCB concentrations (to 7.7 mu g/g), but did not change plant root PCB concentrations. Finally, the results from this study provided further evidence that that under realistic field conditions, PCB transfer to pumpkin plants was primarily via root uptake and translocation. Other contaminant transfer pathways such as direct soil contamination, atmospheric deposition and volatilization from soil and subsequent redeposition on shoots appeared to have negligible contributions to overall pumpkin plant PCB burdens. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available