Framework for assessment and phytoremediation of asbestos-contaminated sites

Abstract

We examine the feasibility of phytoremediation as an alternative strategy to limit the exposure of asbestos in site with asbestos-containing materials. We collected soils from four locations from two sites—one with naturally occurring asbestos, and another, a superfund site, where asbestos containing materials were disposed over decades—and performed ecotoxicology tests. We also performed two experiments with crop cultivar and two grasses from serpentine ecotype and cultivar to determined best choice for phytoremediation. Asbestos concentrations in different size fractions of soils varied by orders of magnitude. However, different asbestos concentrations had little effect on germination and root growth. Presence of co-contaminants such as heavy metals and lack of nutrients affected plant growth to different extents, indicating several of these limiting factors should be considered instead of the primary contaminant of concern. Crop cultivar survived on asbestos contaminated soil. Grasses from serpentine ecotype did not show higher biomass than the cultivar. Overall, these results showed that soil conditions play a critical role in screening different crop species for phytoremediation, and that asbestos concentration has limited to no effect on plant growth. Our study provided a framework for phytoremediation of asbestos-contaminated sites to limit long-term asbestos exposure.

Plants, Microorganisms and Their Metabolites in Supporting Asbestos Detoxification—A Biological Perspective in Asbestos Treatment

“…The natural occurrence of asbestos is primarily associated with ultramafic rocks, mainly serpentinite, in which fibers are found in various generations of metamorphic veins [17]. Asbestos is also often found in mines and quarries of heavy metals or other minerals, such as chromite or vermiculite [5].…”

“…As a result, it is assumed that the most effective way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases will be to ban the usage of all asbestos forms [31]. Despite restrictions on its use and the manufacture of asbestos-containing products worldwide, annual production hovers at around 2.5 million tons, and products containing the mineral are still widely used in India and China, where more than a third of the world's population lives [5].…”

“…For cancers of the pharynx, stomach, colon, and rectum, the IARC considers asbestos an agent with limited evidence of causing the above diseases [38]. Non-malignant conditions associated with exposure to the mineral include asbestosis [1,5,47,49,51], asbestos warts, pleural effusion, pleural plaques, and diffuse pleural fibrosis [4,60]. In addition, it may be responsible for other health effects, including decreased immune function or cardiovascular disease [33].…”

“…The first group is serpentine asbestos, known as chrysotile. The second one is amphiboles, including actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, crocidolite, and tremolite [3][4][5][6][7].…”

The effect of amendments on Lolium perenne roots arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization when cultivated in contaminated soil

“…(Jin et al 2016;Liu et al 2018;Martínez-Martínez et al 2019;Radziemska 2017. Aided phytostabilization is recommended as a suitable and costeffective technique for heavily metal-polluted soils (Bidar et al 2016;Gonneau et al 2017), especially to prevent wind and water erosion on post-mining tailings (Barbosa and Fernando 2018;Luo et al 2019). This remediation strategy can be used on a large scale, both in rural and industrial areas (Bidar et al 2016).…”